News Hub: U.S. Downgrade: Does It Really Matter? 7/27/2011 4:54:01 PM

The loss of its AAA credit rating would put the U.S. in the company of Slovenia, among others. But how much will it really matter? David Wessel discusses.
http://online.wsj.com/video/news-hub-us-downgrade-does-it-really-matter/5E2EDC63-7FB4-40C8-BE8E-15E5618E4EDC.html

Japan downgrade: The beginning of the end?

What a downgrade of Japanese debt by S&P could mean for the country’s future and for the rest of the world.

Tokyo still looks bright.

The timing of the downgrade of Japan’s sovereign bonds by Standard & Poor’s on Thursday came as a bit of a surprise to some. After all, Japanese government bond yields have been relatively stable recently, the yen fairly strong, and, as Citigroup points out, the government has vowed to address its sky-high debt load this year.

But S&P isn’t convinced that’s going to happen. “The downgrade reflects our appraisal that Japan’s government debt ratios–already among the highest for rated sovereigns–will continue to rise further than we envisaged before the global economic recession hit the country and will peak only in the mid-2020s.” More: http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/01/27/japan-downgrade-the-beginning-of-the-end/