Standard and Poor's, Fitch Ratings and Moody's Investor Services

U.S. to Sue S&P

US DOJ on February 5, 2013 filed a lawsuit against Standard and Poor's and its parent company, accusing them of inflating the ratings of the mortgage-based securities prior to housing meltdown that has caused the so-called Great Recession. Although all three major rating agencies--Standard and Poor's, Fitch and Moody's--may be accused of artificially inflating the mortgage-based securities, only Standard and Poor's downgraded the US debt rating in August 2011.

Moody's Issues Negative Outlook

Moody's Investor Services on November 10, 2023 lowered its outlook on the U.S. government debt from "stable" to "negative". However, it retained the rating at the highest level: AAA. Fitch Ratings lowered the U.S. government debt rating to AA+ in August 2023. S&P's downgraded the debt rating to AA+ in 2011, and left it intact since then.