Joke Is on China as U.S.’s AAA Becomes Laughable

By William Pesek

"That the IOUs of a debt-ridden, aging, politically adrift nation smarting from a huge earthquake and nuclear crisis seem safer than U.S. Treasuries says it all."

It’s the paradox of our times. Those who want a share of the global economy must be willing to be ruled by the whims of the millions of nervous investors who drive markets. Europe is learning that lesson as credit raters trip over themselves to issue sovereign debt downgrades. The U.S., too, is seeing the limits of its ability to placate S&P and Moody’s. That’s what happens when lawmakers play politics over the U.S. debt limit.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-19/joke-is-on-china-as-u-s-s-aaa-becomes-laughable-william-pesek.html