万花筒 2011-08-07&08-09 标普下调美国主权信用评级（在线收听）

 Wall Street ended its worst week since November, 2008 when it closed on Friday or so it thought. Now, Standard & Poor's has axed the top notch US AAA credit rating. It's unprecedented reverse of fortune for the world's largest economy. The US now has a long-term rating of AA plus. But S&P said in a statement:the outlook was negative, a sign that another downgrade could come in the next twelve to eighteen months. The downgrade could boost borrowing costs by 100 billion dollars. US treasury bonds once viewed as the safest security in the world are now rated lower than ones issued by countries like Britain, Germany, France or Canada.