credit rating

Fear is in the air on Wall Street. Unemployment is high, housing sales are sluggish and the dollar is weak. Now, to add insult to injury, Standard & Poor's has lowered its U.S. debt outlook to negative, putting the nation's AAA credit rating at risk. Fortunately, smart traders can benefit from these worries.

Standard & Poor's downgraded Ireland's debt rating by one notch on Wednesday due to concerns over possible increased capital requirements by the country's banks.

Standard & Poor's is revamping its credit rating methodology for banks and financial institutions in a way that may cause about 40% of rated banks to get a downgrade, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

France could lose its top AAA credit rating as Europe's debt crisis spreads, Bloomberg News reported. "If problems in the euro zone aren't solved quickly, then the conditions of refinancing will be expensive for these countries and the ratings agencies will do more downgrades," Ralf Ahrens, who...

If you've been rejected for a car loan due to poor credit, you might want to apply again. The automotive credit industry increased the share of new car loans going to credit-challenged borrowers by 12.7% in the third quarter, a sign that lenders are loosening their credit criteria.

Standard & Poor's lowered the credit ratings for AT&T and Verizon Communications on Monday, saying that increased competition will make it harder for the two largest phone companies to pay down their long-term debt.

Portugal's credit rating may be on its way down. Standard & Poor's warned Tuesday that a downgrade may be coming based on the government's failure to create policies that will boost productivity and cut the country's deficit.

We've heard the warnings before, but now that the holiday shopping season is upon us, it may be useful to hear it again: Back away from the wallet, put down that credit card, and think about what you're about to do. Even the tiniest action, when it comes to credit, can hurt your credit score. For...

Meredith Whitney, an analyst who rose to fame as one of the few people who predicted the financial crisis ahead of time, now plans to from a new credit agency, the Financial Times reports.

A day after Moody's Investors Service announced it was putting Ireland under review for a possible downgrade, Fitch Ratings lowered the country's credit grade to A from AA-. Fitch's downgrade was prompted by the government's announcement last week it is pledging more money -- as much as %u20AC50 billion -- to save Ireland's banks, in addition to uncertainty over the country's economic recovery.