U.S. Credit Rating Rises

In August 2012, S&P cut the rating on U.S. Treasury debt from the coveted AAA rating to AA+ with a negative outlook. Ratings agencies typically release a credit outlook, which is the direction the rating agency expects the credit rating to move next. Today, S&P revised the outlook on U.S. Treasury debt to positive, which indicates the agency believes the probability of a credit downgrade is less than one in three.