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The US government's credit rating has been downgraded following concerns over the state of the country's finances and its debt burden.
Fitch, one of three major independent agencies that assess creditworthiness, cut the rating from the top level of AAA to a notch lower at AA+.
Fitch said it had noted a "steady deterioration" in governance over the last 20 years.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called the downgrade "arbitrary".
It was based on "outdated data" from the period 2018 to 2020, she said.
Investors use credit ratings as a benchmark for judging how risky it is to lend money to a government. The US is usually considered a highly secure investment because of the size and relative stability of the economy.