S&P Downgrades U.S. Mortgage Giants Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac from AAA to AA+ Due to Their Reliance on Government

More drama from Standard & Poor's with the downgrade in ratings of U.S. mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, due to their direct reliance on the government. Other other agencies linked to long-term U.S. debt were also downgraded.

The agency also lowered the ratings for: farm lenders; long-term U.S. government-backed debt issued by 32 banks and credit unions; and three major clearinghouses, which are used to execute trades of stocks, bonds and options.

Thanks to the S&P, stock markets across the globe are in a free-fall of sorts. Thanks for f*cking up everybody's morning. Let's not forget to thank our lawmakers in Washington D.C. for helping to get us in this mess in the first place.