+ o/ p) b+ `; {1 O" W2 vWASHINGTON (AP) -- Moody's Investors Service said Tuesday that the United States will retain its triple-A bond rating following passage of legislation to boost the debt ceiling. But the agency put a "negative" outlook on the rating, raising the specter of a future downgrade.) N9 l! T5 L6 c
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Moody's said in a statement that the bill signed into law by President Barack Obama dealt with the immediate threat of a default that would have resulted from a failure to raise the country's borrowing limit.' A1 H) l% A! d8 T' M7 r
1 N9 S; ~( y- ?! C% Z# z, I s+ ZBut the agency assigned a negative outlook to the triple-A rating to indicate that there is still a risk of a downgrade if the government's fiscal discipline weakens or the economy deteriorates significantly. ! k$ {" _) ~0 v: t8 Q" S4 N6 T( O+ a
A credit-rating downgrade typically leads to higher interest rates, and would have a huge impact on the economy by making it more expensive for the government, companies and consumers to borrow money. Moody's has never given the U.S. government anything lower than its top rating since it began evaluating the country's debt in 1917.