fitch

On Tuesday, credit ratings agency Fitch affirmed its "AAA" rating of the U.S. and said its near-term outlook for America's sovereign paper was "stable." The decision is a remarkable contrast to the cut in the U.S. rating by S&P, which downgraded the nation's debt to "AA+" and offered a...

Fitch Ratings has downgraded Ireland three notches from A to BBB , citing the costs of restructuring the Irish banking system, the country's weak growth prospects, and uncertainty about its economy due to the deepening financial crisis, despite the international economic assistance it received last month.

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.

BP's credit rating was downgraded to BBB from AA -- a staggering six notches -- by Fitch Ratings on concerns of growing estimates of the size of the oil spill and U.S. demands for an escrow account.

In the debt and credit mess that now extends clear across Europe, Fitch Ratings has put the U.K. on notice to get its finances into much better shape -- pronto.

With rate resets kicking in on a raft of exotic adjustable-rate loans, delinquencies on jumbo mortgages for high-end homes nearly tripled to 9.2% in December 2009 compared to the 3.2% rate December 2008. And the number of expensive homes on the market continues to rise.

Standard & Poor's, Moody's (MCO) and Fitch will likely loose their stranglehold on bond ratings now that the National Association of Insurance Commissions has added its voice to the growing call for an end to the ratings agencies' oligopoly over bond ratings. The ratings agencies lost their...

California inched closer to junk bond status with downgrades from Moody's and Fitch. Even so, key leaders of California couldn't even resume talks to find a solution to the state's $26.3 billion deficit. State treasurer Bill Lockyer continues to warn of dire consequences to the state's ability to...

The state of California must pass a budget by tomorrow or its credit rating could tumble to junk status. Both Moody's and Standard & Poor's have warned the state of a multinotch downgrade if the state fails to approve a budget. California currently has an A2 rating, the lowest of any state....

Credit rating agencies, including S&P, Moody's and Fitch, may try to hide behind the First Amendment to avoid investor lawsuits over their failure to sniff out problems that culminated in the financial crisis. However, moves by the SEC and Congress may soon make this legal dodge much more...