Personal Finance Buzz

There’s lots of bad news surrounding the announcement by Standard & Poor’s to downgrade the credit rating of the U.S. government. The decision will make it more expensive for the country to borrow money, adding to the national debt, and the announcement has thrown the stock market into a serious tizzy.

Even if the debt ceiling is raised for now, the U.S. will still have a huge deficit. Concerns about what will happen next time will force ratings agencies to cut the U.S. credit rating.

Improve your credit rating by getting your credit report and correcting errors, paying your balance and controlling your spending.

The markets opened slightly higher today after Tim Geithner defended the U.S. credit rating. He expressed his belief that there is "no risk the U.S. would lose its AAA credit rating". This helped weaken the Dollar and lift the futures for a positive open. After the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:SPY) opened at $130.76 and moved to a high of $131.07, it faded and is currently trading at $130.63, barely positive. Volume is much lighter today after the panic of the credit outlook downgrade by Standard and Poor's seems a distant memory and the Passover holiday is now in full swing. In addition, Easter is coming this weekend and with many kids off from school, some traders are taking it lighter this week.

Even if you don't use credit, your credit score can affect your finances.