S&P

China, the largest creditor of the world's sole superpower, hit out at the United States for its "debt addiction" and "short sighted" political wrangling in response to Standard & Poor's historic decision to downgrade the U.S. credit rating from AAA.

The United States wouldn't enjoy "risk-free" top AAA credit rating any longer. Standard & Poor's decision, being questioned by many including the White House, to downgrade AAA rating to AA+ was based on an analysis which blew up U.S. deficits by $2 trillion.

The U.S. treasury department attacked S&P?s decision to downgrade the country?s AAA rating, saying that there is a $2 trillion error in the credit agency's analysis.

Standard & Poor's focused too much on the messy political process leading to a debt-limit hike and made a $2-trillion error in its calculations about U.S. finances, sources familiar with the discussions claimed on Friday night.

The United States lost its top-notch AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor's on Friday, in a dramatic reversal of fortune for the world's largest economy.

Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's has lowered the long-term U.S. credit rating to AA+ from AAA, saying that in its opinion, a recently passed deficit cutting plan by the U.S. government fell short of the goal of stabilizing the government's medium-term debt dynamics.

The United States lost its top-notch AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor's on Friday in an unprecedented reversal of fortune for the world's largest economy.

The countdown of Juno mission to Jupiter is moving ahead toward a lift-off at 11:34 am EDT, NASA said in a statement. The weather forecast is positive on Friday and there are no indications of technical issues.

Markets remained jittery Friday even as Dow futures rose ahead of a jobs report that was slightly better than expected.

NASA scientists said on Thursday that new evidence indicates that highly salty water may flow on Mars during its summer, which also empowers the possibility of life on the planet. The reason behind the thought that life could be possible in Mars is that compared to ice, liquid water is more likely to sustain life, a fact that stresses the significance of the latest discovery.

?The damage this week is more than last week ? translation, more damage from economic fears than debt fears.?

U.S. stocks plummeted Thursday, following a similarly huge sell-off in Europe, on growing fears that the global economy is sinking into a recession, ahead of worries about tomorrow?s July jobs report.

The U.S. sell-off follows even greater declines in Europe.

Stocks fell on Wednesday, and the S&P 500 hit a new low for the year as the latest data triggered more pessimism about the economy's outlook.

The United States had its triple-A rating confirmed by two key ratings agencies on Tuesday after Washington struck a last-minute deal to avoid a debt default, but threats of future downgrades remain.

On Tuesday, President Barack Obama signed a bill to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, preventing the nation from defaulting for the first time in its history.

Over the last seven consecutive days, the index has plunged 6.76 percent.

Stocks dropped on Tuesday as worries about the health of the global economy and a possible downgrade for U.S. debt sent the S&P 500 crashing through key technical levels in an ominous sign for markets.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said he is not sure whether the bitterly fought debt agreement to be considered Tuesday by the Senate will avoid a downgrade of the U.S. top-tier credit rating.

With the debt deal negotiations done, the focus now shifts to the Republican-led House, where Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, will try to attract moderate Democrats to offset the likely high number of Tea Party House members who will vote against the bill. A Senate vote on the bill also could occur later Monday.

Global financial markets reflected relief over the resolution of debt limit ceiling impasse in the U.S.