Fitch Warns of U.S. Rating Downgrade if Fiscal Cliff Isn’t Averted

[thundley4]

Here we go again with the rating agencies. The election results are barely 12 hours old but Fitch Ratings has already sent a warning shot across the bow of Obama’s second term as president, saying on Wednesday that the U.S. triple-A credit rating is at risk if Washington can’t avoid the fiscal cliff and reduce the deficit.

For its part, rival rating agency Moody’s Investors Service said Wednesday that it would adopt a wait-and-see approach, putting off any decisions about a possible downgrade until the budget process plays out. Standard & Poor‘s famously stripped the U.S. of its AAA rating in August of 2011 amid the partisan budget gridlock that was responsible for creating the upcoming fiscal cliff in the first place.

http://blogs.barrons.com/incomeinvesting/2012/11/07/fitch-warns-of-u-s-rating-downgrade-if-fiscal-cliff-isnt-averted/

What budget process?