Editorial – When global investors turn hostile to a government’s borrowing, it can be sudden, furious and far from pretty. No one knows exactly how enforced austerity would play out here, but the debt rating agency Standard & Poor’s gave everyone a new reason to think about it on Monday (4/18/11) by changing its outlook for U.S. Treasury debt from stable to negative.
It would increase borrowing costs for home buyers and businesses, as well as for government. It would drive down the value of the dollar, add inflation to the nation’s litany of woes, and possibly ignite another global credit crisis. How many more signals will it take? Is it not obvious that action is needed very soon? more> http://tinyurl.com/3ar7exl
related>
- Geithner says “no risk” U.S. will lose AAA rating, David Lawder, Reuters
- Stocks tumble on U.S. credit outlook, Rita Nazareth and Cordell Eddings, Bloomberg/Wichita Eagle
- Wall Street falls on sovereign fears, Ryan Vlastelica, Reuters
