Ratings agencies welcome Australian budget

With Japan's public debt about to hit 240% of GDP, Fitch Downgrades Japan's Sovereign Rating The ratings agency Fitch on Tuesday lowered its assessment of Japan’s sovereign credit to A+, an investment grade just above the likes of Spain and Italy, and criticized Tokyo for not doing more to pare down its burgeoning debt.

from Dean Baker The media have been bombarding the public with scare stories about the country's "record" budget deficits. Newspapers and news shows that never bothered to mention the growth of the $8 trillion housing bubble that eventually crashed the economy are giving us an endless barrage of stories claiming that current and projected future deficits will bankrupt our grandchildren.

Sen. Al Franken's mostly kept a low-profile in the Senate. But he's recently announced his intention to bring a major amendment reshaping the rating agency business to the financial-regulation bill.