S&P cuts US outlook from stable to negative

The ratings agency cited the US' soaring budget deficit and its inability to come up with a credible plan to tackle the debt as the primary reason for the downgrade. Standard & Poor's credit analyst Nikola Swann says: "More than two years after the beginning of the recent crisis US policymakers have still not agreed on how to reverse recent fiscal deterioration or address longer-term fiscal pressures." S&P's has retained the US' AAA credit rating. In reaction to the downgrade, the Dow Jones was down 1.49% or 172 points, at 12,169 just after the opening bell. Traders started sell...