Fitch downgrades US credit rating from AAA to AA+. Major independent agency said it had noted a "steady deterioration" in governance over the last 20 years.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called the downgrade "arbitrary".

“Fitch’s decision does not change what Americans, investors & people all around the world already know: that Treasury securities remain the world’s preeminent safe & liquid asset, and that the American economy is fundamentally strong,” Yellen has said.