• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg used mortgages to buy multimillion-dollar mansions. Here’s why that’s a savvy financial decision

2

AI CEOs from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft set aside their rivalry to warn Congress AI is making it too easy to design and create bioweapons

3

Social Security faces a 24% cut in 2032—that's a $345 billion hit to retirees nationwide, watchdog says

1

Billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg used mortgages to buy multimillion-dollar mansions. Here’s why that’s a savvy financial decision

2

AI CEOs from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft set aside their rivalry to warn Congress AI is making it too easy to design and create bioweapons

3

Social Security faces a 24% cut in 2032—that's a $345 billion hit to retirees nationwide, watchdog says

China downgrades U.S. debt

By
Colin Barr
Colin Barr
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Colin Barr
Colin Barr
Down Arrow Button Icon
November 9, 2010, 7:42 PM ET

A publicity-minded Chinese rating agency has added its two renminbi to the cacophonous debate over the Fed’s latest tilt at money-printing.

The state-backed Dagong Global Credit Rating Co. on Tuesday downgraded its rating on the United States to A-plus from double-A, maintaining its negative outlook.



Not looking good, surely

It warned that the Federal Reserve’s plan to buy $600 billion of Treasury securities over eight months in its second go at so-called quantitative easing could trigger a creditor crisis.

“The new round of quantitative easing monetary policy adopted by the Federal Reserve has brought about an obvious trend of depreciation of the U.S. dollar, and the continuation and deepening of credit crisis in the U.S.,” Dagong writes in its latest report on its U.S. rating. “Such a move entirely encroaches on the interests of the creditors, indicating the decline of the U.S. government’s intention of debt repayment.”

This is a salient point because China is America’s biggest foreign creditor, with official Treasury holdings creeping up on the $1 trillion mark and unofficial holdings expanding rapidly as well.

The United States and its trading partners have had a disagreement or two in recent days over Fed chief Ben Bernanke’s decision to expand his holdings of Treasurys in a bid to further bring down interest rates. Lower rates tend to equal a lower dollar, which tragically enough mucks up everyone else’s plans to export their way to prosperity.

One critique of the Fed’s decision is that it won’t actually accomplish what the Fed is setting out to do, which is to bolster domestic employment. Meanwhile, many critics contend, additional money-creation is apt to inflate asset bubbles elsewhere and eventually end in ruinous inflation for everyone.

But Dagong is willing to go where many observers have been unwilling to tread, contending that the collapse of the dollar is near.

“Analysis shows that the crisis confronting the U.S. cannot be ultimately resolved through currency depreciation,” it writes. “On the contrary, it is likely that an overall crisis might be triggered by the U.S. government’s policy to continuously depreciate the U.S. dollar against the will of creditors.”

Of course, analysis also shows that the supposedly debilitating depreciation of the dollar hasn’t gone as far as many would suppose.

Yes, the dollar has fallen by double-digit percentages in recent months against the yen and the euro. But the Federal Reserve’s broad trade-weighted exchange index, which tracks the dollar’s value against smaller currencies as well, is down less sharply. What’s more, it is flat with its level three years ago, before the onset of the credit crisis.

There is also the small matter of Dagong’s evident flair for drama. For instance, when it started coverage of the U.S. and other big debt-addled nations in July, it gave them lower ratings than the beloved Moody’s and S&P agencies in the U.S. in part because “Dagong does not to apply ideology as demarcation and fairly maintains interests of various circles in the national credit relationship.”

But that high-mindedness was in short supply as the company pursued its application for favored status with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The SEC eventually turned down Dagong on the reasonable grounds it doesn’t have offices or clients in this country — but not until Dagong first claimed prematurely it had been rejected and then fired off a letter threatening a lawsuit and warning that China “shall share the discourse power of the credit rating in the U.S. market.”

We’ll see about that yet, but for now Dagong is saying the U.S. “may face … unpredictable risks in solvency in the coming one to two years.” Sad to say that even considering the source, that doesn’t seem terribly far-fetched.

About the Author
By Colin Barr
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in

The Strait of Hormuz is more open than previously thought as the U.S. shoots down Iranian drones threatening ships and provides ‘naval overwatch’
EnergyIran
The Strait of Hormuz is more open than previously thought as the U.S. shoots down Iranian drones threatening ships and provides ‘naval overwatch’
By Jason MaJune 6, 2026
3 hours ago
Illinois joins Ohio in ordering pause on data center tax credits
PoliticsData centers
Illinois joins Ohio in ordering pause on data center tax credits
By Yash Roy and BloombergJune 6, 2026
7 hours ago
Here’s where U.S. debt may become unsustainable with interest payments triggering a default crisis that even steep tax hikes can’t fix
EconomyDebt
Here’s where U.S. debt may become unsustainable with interest payments triggering a default crisis that even steep tax hikes can’t fix
By Jason MaJune 6, 2026
7 hours ago
Trump says he supports salary cap for Major League Baseball
North AmericaMLB
Trump says he supports salary cap for Major League Baseball
By Jordan Fabian and BloombergJune 6, 2026
9 hours ago
Oil drilling rises in longest U.S. streak since 2022 on price bump
EnergyOil
Oil drilling rises in longest U.S. streak since 2022 on price bump
By Emma Sanchez and BloombergJune 6, 2026
9 hours ago
SpaceX and other mega IPOs may wait years to join the S&P 500
InvestingS&P 500
SpaceX and other mega IPOs may wait years to join the S&P 500
By Bailey Lipschultz, Vildana Hajric and BloombergJune 6, 2026
9 hours ago

Most Popular

Billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg used mortgages to buy multimillion-dollar mansions. Here’s why that’s a savvy financial decision
Real Estate
Billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg used mortgages to buy multimillion-dollar mansions. Here’s why that’s a savvy financial decision
By Sydney LakeJune 6, 2026
19 hours ago
AI CEOs from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft set aside their rivalry to warn Congress AI is making it too easy to design and create bioweapons
AI
AI CEOs from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft set aside their rivalry to warn Congress AI is making it too easy to design and create bioweapons
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 5, 2026
2 days ago
Social Security faces a 24% cut in 2032—that's a $345 billion hit to retirees nationwide, watchdog says
Economy
Social Security faces a 24% cut in 2032—that's a $345 billion hit to retirees nationwide, watchdog says
By Nick LichtenbergJune 5, 2026
2 days ago
Here's where U.S. debt may become unsustainable with interest payments triggering a default crisis that even steep tax hikes can't fix
Economy
Here's where U.S. debt may become unsustainable with interest payments triggering a default crisis that even steep tax hikes can't fix
By Jason MaJune 6, 2026
7 hours ago
MacKenzie Scott's approach to her $26 billion giving spree was inspired by a book she read in college about writing
Success
MacKenzie Scott's approach to her $26 billion giving spree was inspired by a book she read in college about writing
By Sydney LakeJune 5, 2026
2 days ago
The Strait of Hormuz is more open than previously thought as the U.S. shoots down Iranian drones threatening ships and provides 'naval overwatch'
Energy
The Strait of Hormuz is more open than previously thought as the U.S. shoots down Iranian drones threatening ships and provides 'naval overwatch'
By Jason MaJune 6, 2026
8 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.