US debt rating in doubt, warns Fitch

Washington: The top ‘AAA’ long-term debt rating of the United States will be in danger if lawmakers do not raise borrowing limits in a timely fashion, ratings agency Fitch warned on Wednesday. Congress faces looming deadlines to approve spending for 2018 and raise legal limits on the amount the United States can borrow in order to meet immediate funding obligations — raising the prospect that the US could default on its sovereign debt for the first time ever and cause havoc on global markets. The ratings agency Standard & Poor’s in 2011 downgraded the US debt rating to AA+, a notch below its highest level, following battles among lawmakers over whether to lift the cap on borrowing. — AFP