Biggest News aggregator with 200 million news articles | vimarsana.com
says chief washington correspondent for bloomberg tv, peter cook. >> at the end of the day, it's their name on these ratings. their own reputation. they have to make the judgment call that they believe is right. >> reporter: what worries the treasury is any change in the gold-plated credit rating that would spike interest rates on u.s. debt. just a half percentage point increase on a $14 trillion debt would cost taxpayers roughly $850 billion over the next decade. low-risk investors, like those who run pension and retirement funds, would be forced to dump u.s. bonds. a massive hit to america's reputation and the rock-solid investment. >> they have to have something triple a rated. if it's not triple a rated, they can't hold it. they'd have to sell those treasuries. >> reporter: this mounting pressure from the credit agencies is another reality check for democrats and republicans struggling to find common ground. >> if we go into next week and we haven't seen any action by the president or congress, i think financial markets are going to grow increasingly unrestful.