Saturday, August 13, 2011

Thoughts on the Downgrade

"1. S&P removed the US’ AAA rating – which we’ve had for 70 years. They downgraded our long-term debt to AA+. They also put us on “negative outlook.”

2. For several years, I have said (in presentations) that we would be downgraded (which was pretty obvious to everyone), and estimated that it would happen a few years from now (closer to 2014). I believe that the downgrade happened earlier only because of Congress and the turmoil over the debt ceiling (and the meaningless changes we’ve made for the future…more on that below).

3. John Chambers (chairman of S&P’s sovereign ratings committee) said that the firm’s conclusion “was pretty much motivated by all of the debate about the raising of the debt ceiling. It involved a level of brinksmanship greater than what we had expected earlier in the year..."

Read the the rest of the list in the Leeds on Finance post.

Why Women Aren’t C.E.O.s, According to Women Who Almost Were

"It’s not a pipeline problem. It’s about loneliness, competition and deeply rooted barriers." Read more in the NYT .