U.S. Joins New Zealand and Belgium in AA+ Credit Ratings

U.S. Joins Two Countries in AA+ Credit Ratings

Wellington, New Zealand - The United States of America has joined two other countries in the AA+ circle: New Zealand and Belgium, after the one of the top credit rating agency, Standard & Poor's, downgraded its credit ratings from AAA to AA+.

The downgrade has made the United States below the credit ratings ranking where 18 other countries in the AAA credit ratings are ranked above the world power, the United States, which includes Australia and Liechtenstein. The comparison has become a laughingstock back at the U.S. Many Americans could not believe the United States is being compared to two other countries with a total combined population is still less than that of Florida.

New Zealanders however believes they are the ones who should take the offense. New Zealand, a country known for its majestic and scenic landscape, has been greatly affected by the 2008 U.S. Economic Recession but has recovered tremendously then after. The country has better unemployment rate at 6.5% compared to that of the United States at 7.5%.

New Zealand's government debt is way better comprising only 20% of its economy compared to 75% of the United States. The situation in Belgium is different. Belgium's unemployment rate maybe be better at 7.4% but the country's public debt is very alarmingly high at 97% of its total gross domestic product or GDP. The three countries are included in the negative watch list of Standard & Poor’s and possibly might receive another downgrade.

Posted by James Fried on Friday August 12 2011, 4:01 AM EST. Ref: CNN. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Finance. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0