The Holy Grail - US AAA credit rating

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services sees the greatest threat to AAA credit rating of the U.S. in financial support for GSEs rather than bailing out Investment banks.

The maximum potential cost of assisting broker-dealers in a prolonged recession is less than 3 percent of gross domestic product, compared with as much as 10 percent to agencies such as Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and Federal Home Loan Banks, the credit- ratings company said in a statement today. Damage to the U.S. rating from the agencies is unlikely, S&P said.



source: U.S. Rating Threatened More by Agencies Than Bailouts, S&P Says
Bloomberg
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20602007&sid=aHYXWVtUiiFQ&refer=rates