By Sean Michael Cummings
America received a credit downgrade for the second time in history... But it shouldn't kill the bull run in stocks.
See, around the globe, sovereign debt is rated by three major credit agencies – Fitch Ratings, Moody's, and Standard & Poor's.
Until recently, all three agencies rated U.S. sovereign debt as "AAA" or "risk free." But in 2011, Standard & Poor's downgraded U.S. debt to "AA+," the next tier lower.
The market reaction was so severe that it became known in Wall Street circles as "Black Monday 2011." The S&P 500 Index plunged about 7% the morning after the downgrade.