US debt rating outlook downgraded by one firm….

The credit rating firm Fitch left the United States’ AAA rating untouched, but downgraded its outlook on what is effectively the national credit score, suggesting the country’s status as one of the world’s most trustworthy borrowers could be put at risk by the enormous deficits the federal government is running to combat the fallout from the pandemic.

“The outlook has been revised to negative to reflect the ongoing deterioration in the U.S. public finances and the absence of a credible fiscal consolidation plan,” Fitch analysts wrote on Friday in a report announcing the decision.

Cratering tax revenues and surging expenditures have driven record levels of red ink for the federal government in recent months. The United States’ budget deficit hit a record $864 billion in June as the government continued pumping money into the economy to support workers and businesses slammed by the pandemic. Some analysts expect monthly deficits to soon top $1 trillion.

Ballooning deficits have led to an explosion of new borrowing. Fitch noted that the Treasury Department borrowed just under $3 trillion dollars from the end of February to the end of June.

Much of the supply of new government bonds was, essentially, purchased by the Federal Reserve, which has bought $2.6 trillion in financial assets since the middle of March, Fitch noted.

The presence of the Federal Reserve, which can essentially create whatever money it wants and use it to buy assets, such as U.S. government debt, has depressed yields on government bonds even as debts and deficits rise sharply.

On Friday, the yield on the 10-year note fell to 0.53 percent, one of the lowest levels in recorded history, suggesting there is virtually no concern among investors about the country’s ability to service its growing debts.