Topic: Standard & Poor's

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Top 5 bull markets since 1929

The bull market that started in 2009 is currently the fifth most spectacular rise in stock prices since at least 1929. Can you guess which bull markets have been even more impressive?
Debt-ceiling showdown: 4 reasons it's not a replay of 2011

In 2011, Congress and President Obama went to the brink of government default when congressional Republicans balked at raising the nation's debt ceiling. The spring of 2013 appears to have another debt ceiling fight in store. Here are the top four things that have changed.
Briefing
Obama vs. Romney 101: 3 ways they differ on regulation

Wall Street is a big target – blamed for the financial crisis that led to the Great Recession. Mitt Romney says efforts to rein in financiers via more regulation are an attack on “economic freedom.” President Obama says new regulations would make it “more profitable to play by the rules than to game the system.” Here are three specifics on which the two differ.
A brief history of the Greek debt crisis
Which countries have a higher credit rating than the US?

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Why the stock market took a pounding Thursday

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 419.63 points to close at 10,990.58. News from Europe and unfavorable economic reports in the US appear to be factors.
AAA credit rating affirmed by Fitch

AAA credit rating for the US remains in place for Fitch Ratings, even though Standard & Poor's downgraded the US from its AAA credit rating
US stocks fall on European economic, debt worries

At the close, the Dow was down about 76 points, the Nasdaq was down about 31 points, and the S&P 500 was down about 11 points
Role reversal as Wall Street blames Washington for economic woes

A number of economists and financial managers say Washington is making the volatility on Wall Street worse, when it should be acting as a calming influence.
Stock market news: US stock futures rise following wild week

Stock market news is improving since last Monday's plunge. A few companies announced acquisitions to start off this week's stock market news.
Asian markets rise as cautious investors return

Asian markets react to modest rise in US stock futures. But trading expected to be seasonally thin in Asian markets.
Obama casts Congress as the problem, tells Americans to 'let them know'

Obama uses his weekly address to decry partisanship of Congress, seeking to align himself with a frustrated electorate. But his own popularity has sagged, and critics draw Jimmy Carter comparisons.
Tea party fortunes are fading even as its star Michele Bachmann shines

A new poll finds favorable views of 'the tea party movement' have slumped to a new low. But that hasn't dimmed the star of Michele Bachmann, seen by many as a winner of the televised GOP debate.
Should Obama go on vacation while markets are so skittish?

Some say vacationing now sends the wrong message, while others say that presidents need breathers, too – and note that his Monday speech sent the Dow further downward.
We need a bold jobs plan, but Obama shies away

History has shown that the US government needs to boost spending to rise out of a downturn. But with the 2012 election on the horizon, the White House hesitates to take the political risk.
Gold prices shoot past record $1,800 an ounce

Gold prices jumped on Wednesday as fears about Europe's debt crisis intensified. Gold prices were at about half of the current level prior to the financial crisis, during the summer of 2008.
Dow takes another dive: what is making investors worried

Obama, Bernanke, and Geithner meet as investors worry that political leaders – in the United States and Europe – and central banks can't do much more to support a weak economy.
Fed's interest-rate move wows Dow, but is also sign of plodding recovery

The Dow recovered almost 430 points Tuesday, after the Fed said it would keep short-term interest rates low until mid-2013. But the Fed's surprise move also points to expectations for slow recovery.
Which countries have a higher credit rating than the US?

When Standard & Poor's downgraded the US from its AAA status to AA+ on Aug. 5, it knocked just one country off a lengthy list. Now, there are 18 nations with AAA credit ratings. Calculations of GDP and government gross debt are from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for 2010. The US had a GDP of about $14.6 trillion in 2010, the IMF estimates. Its debt, of about $13 trillion, is roughly 92 percent of its GDP. Data were not available for the small, AAA-rated sovereignties of Lichtenstein, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man. And missing from the list? Some of the US's top economic competitors.
Dow rallies after Fed statement, up 429 points

After huge losses on Monday, the stock market sprang back up Tuesday, after the Fed announced it would hold interest rates low for the next two years
Gold prices reach yet another high on Tuesday(VIDEO)

Gold prices continue to rise, as volatility remains in global economic markets. Gold prices are getting closer to $1,800 per ounce.
After 635-point sell-off, Fed running out of options

It's unlikely the Fed will introduce another round of quantitative easing, say some observers
Credit rating: S&P is not the first to downgrade the US

Credit rating agencies, other than S&P, have downgraded the US already. One credit rating agency even rated the US just one notch above junk.
Rating falls, markets plunge, critics rage. But tea party isn't blinking.

Tea party lawmakers say the S&P's downgrade of the US credit rating and the markets' convulsive reaction on Monday is merely confirmation that they had been right all along.
Dow drops 1,147 points over three trading days. Is that a 'crash'?

The Dow has lost 9.13 percent of its value over three days of trading. It's bad, but investors have seen much worse in previous sell-offs. Still, 'crash' versus 'correction' is a matter of debate.
Obama tries to calm jittery investors

The Dow plunged 634 points Monday, even as Obama sought to assure the markets that the still-gaping deficit represents a failure of politics, not of the nation's credit-worthiness.
Five reasons the S&P downgrade isn’t so bad – and one word of caution

If the Standard & Poors downgrade of US debt from AAA to AA+ worries investors enough, the US may be forced to pay higher interest on its debt, which could affect interest rates across the economy, from mortgages to car loans. But for now, economists say, the economic impact of the downgrade will likely be minimal and US Treasury bonds will continue to be the investment vehicle of choice for American and overseas investors. “Despite the drop in the rating and the fact that the US economy is going through a fiscal crisis, it’s still one of the safest places to invest,” says Farhad Saboori, an economist at Albright College in Reading, Penn. Here are five reasons why the downgrade isn’t as bad as it seems, and a reminder not to take it too lightly:
World markets worried about containing Europe debt crisis

Despite the European Central Bank’s intervention today, last week's losses in the Asian and European exchanges continued, prompted by worries that Europe's debt crisis will spread.
Double-dip recession? It would be for no good reason.

Double-dip recession could be coming, but it doesn't have to be. As Americans are becoming fearful of a double-dip recession, lawmakers in Washington are obsessing over the wrong things.
The Monitor's View: There's still time for a debt fix 'do over'

The failure of the debt-ceiling agreement that was arrived at last week opens up a new opportunity for Washington to get it right.