Crossing this afternoon *FRANCE'S CREDIT RATING DOWNGRADED TO A+ FROM AA- AT SCOPE The U.S. credit rating is AA+ -- Trump will be upset because he thinks Sovereign (Government) yields are set by credit rating. The best credit rating gets the lowest yield. As the chart shows, France has had lower yields than the U.S. since 2013 (13+ years now) despite being a lower-rated credit, and now even lower. Better credit ratings getting lower yields works really well for junk-rated Atlantic City casinos (which he is an expert on), but not for government yields. Government yields are set on inflation expectations, growth outlooks, and borrowing amounts. So, why are French yields lower than US yields? They have lower inflation, smaller deficits, and much weaker growth.                 Real Deficits Nominal GDP   Inflation    (% of GDP)     GDP US           2.3%    3.2%               6.0%         5.3% France    0.9%    1.8%               4.7%          2.2%