Because of the "rising possibility" that Congress will not soon approve a deal to raise the debt limit, Moody's Investors Service has reportedly put the U.S. on review for a possible credit rating downgrade, according to Bloomberg.
From the Moody's statement:
Moody's Investors Service has placed the Aaa bond rating of the government of the United States on review for possible downgrade given the rising possibility that the statutory debt limit will not be raised on a timely basis, leading to a default on US Treasury debt obligations. On June 2, Moody's had announced that a rating review would be likely in mid July unless there was meaningful progress in negotiations to raise the debt limit.
In conjunction with this action, Moody's has placed on review for possible downgrade the Aaa ratings of financial institutions directly linked to the US government: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Federal Home Loan Banks, and the Federal Farm Credit Banks. We have also placed on review for possible downgrade securities either guaranteed by, backed by collateral securities issued by, or otherwise directly linked to the US government or the affected financial institutions.
From Reuters:
NEW YORK (Walter Brandimarte and Daniel Bases) - The United States may lose its top-notch credit rating in the next few weeks if lawmakers fail to increase the country's debt ceiling, forcing the government to miss debt payments, Moody's Investors Service warned on Wednesday.
Moody's was the first among the big-three rating agencies to place the United States' Aaa rating on review for a possible downgrade, which means a negative rating action is impending.
In a statement, Moody's said it sees a "rising possibility that the statutory debt limit will not be raised on a timely basis, leading to a default on U.S. Treasury debt obligations."