Robert Schroeder
MarketWatch
Citing the strength of the U.S. economy and the dollar’s standing in the world, Standard & Poor’s on Monday raised its outlook on the U.S. credit rating — even as the ratings agency said Washington lawmakers have a “lesser ability” than others countries’ to deal with public finance pressure in the long term.
S&P raised its outlook on the country’s long-term credit rating to stable from negative, and said the U.S. has less than a one-in-three chance of another downgrade in the near term.
U.S. equity markets seesawed Monday, after initially rising in the wake of the S&P news. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA and the S&P 500 were both in negative territory mid-Monday afternoon.