Moody's downgrades US credit rating over rising debt

Moody's Ratings on Friday announced that it downgraded the U.S. credit rating by one notch due to persistent fiscal deficits that it sees as likely to deteriorate in the future.

The downgrade moves the U.S. credit rating down one notch from Aaa to Aa1 on Moody's 21-notch rating scale. The firm also changed its outlook for the U.S. from negative to stable.

Moody's said that the downgrade "reflects the increase over more than a decade in government debt and interest payment ratios to levels that are significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns."