IS THIS WHERE THE U.S. IS HEADING? S&P Downgrade Sinks U.K. Pound. “Buyers of the pound faced an unexpected reversal of fortunes Thursday, after ratings agency Standard & Poor’s Corp. downgraded its credit-rating outlook for the U.K. to “negative” from ‘stable.'” Upside for Britain — other countries are likely to be downgraded, too. We’ll all fall together, which means none of us will be falling at all! Er, kind of.