CONSEQUENCES: Fitch Downgrades Hong Kong Over China’s Stronger Hand. “The move will make it more expensive for Hong Kong and many companies closely tied to its fortunes to borrow money. But more broadly, the downgrade signals the growing belief within the financial world that the barriers between Hong Kong and mainland China are weakening, a development that could threaten the city’s longtime status as a global financial hub. Fitch, which is based in the United States, is the first of the three major credit rating firms to downgrade Hong Kong’s creditworthiness. It is also the first time Fitch has downgraded its rating on Hong Kong since 1995.”