Moody's on Friday lowered its outlook on the U.S. credit rating to "negative" from "stable" citing large fiscal deficits and a decline in debt affordability, a move that drew immediate criticism from President Joe Biden's administration.
The move follows a rating downgrade of the sovereign by another ratings agency, Fitch, this year, which came after months of political brinkmanship around the U.S. debt ceiling.
Federal spending and political polarization have been a rising concern for investors, contributing to selloff that took U.S. government bond prices to their lowest levels in 16 years.