US likely to suffer second downgrade - Merrill

Merrill said the move is likely to come by the end of 2011, as agencies remain concerned about the nation’s budget deficit, Reuters reports. The trigger would be a likely failure by Congress to agree on a credible long-term plan to cut the deficit, the bank said in a research note published on Friday. A second downgrade - either from Moody's or Fitch - would follow Standard & Poor's downgrade in August on concerns about the government's budget deficit and rising debt burden. A fresh loss of the country's top credit rating would be an additional blow to the sluggish US economy, Merr...