Britain lost its AAA rating.

The United States suffered a setback when credit rating agency S&P boldly downgraded the country's sovereign ratings from its pristine triple-A rating in August, 2011. Less than two years later, Great Britain is in the same boat. The country suffered its first ever sovereign ratings downgrade from a major rating agency. And, this time it was Moody's who delivered the blow. Weak prospects for British economic growth have derailed the economy's deficit reduction plans. This downgrade comes as a major blow to Finance Minister, George Osborne who vowed to defend Britain's AAA rating when he came to power in 2010. But, maybe this humiliating blow will spur the Bank of England to resort to bond purchases in order to jumpstart the economy. Britain now joins the lowly ranks of United States and France in having lost its AAA rating from at least one major agency. The big question is whether Australia, Germany, Switzerland and Canada are next? Well, we sure hope not.