Visitors walk on the plaza at the U.S. Capitol in the midst of ongoing negotiations seeking a deal to raise the United States’ debt ceiling and avoid a catastrophic default, in Washington, U.S. May 24, 2023. Jonathan Ernst | ReutersFitch put the United States’ AAA long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating on negative watch Wednesday evening, pointing to brinksmanship over the debt ceiling.”The Rating Watch Negative reflects increased political partisanship that is hindering reaching a solution to raise or suspend the debt limit despite the fast-approaching x-date,” the rating agency said.Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly slipped about 100 points after Fitch, one of the big three ratings agencies, issued its note.The so-called X-date, which is when the U.S. could default on its debt, could arrive as early as June 1, according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.Fitch noted that it still expects Washington officials to arrive at a resolution before the deadline.”However, we believe risks have risen that the debt limit will not be raised or suspended before the x-date and consequently that the government could begin …
