On April, 18, 2011, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'AAA' ratings on the United States of America (AAA/Negative/A-1+) but revised its outlook on the rating to negative. Our opinion of the recent and expected further deterioration in the U.S. fiscal profile, and of the ability and willingness of the U.S. to soon reverse this trend, was the driving factor in our decision to revise the outlook to negative. This article explains our view of the short-, medium-, and long-term fiscal challenges facing the U.S. government and how these contributed to our decision to revise the outlook. A Standard&Poor's sovereign credit rating represents our opinion on both the ability and willingness of a particular sovereign government to
