The United States has lost its top-notch AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor's on Friday. This is the first time the nation's credit rating has fallen below the highest level since 1917. A big question mark is hovering over the already faltering US economy.

The news is spreading from Times square...

And reactions are swift.

Reginald Dews said, "Everything's costing more. Jobs are hard to get."

Bill Whitehouse said, "It started with Clinton. Bush really didn't address it, and now, Barack Obama's made it that much worse."

The downgrade was also pounced on by candidates vying for the Republican presidential nomination. The next election takes place in 15 months.

Republican Presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty said, "It's a reflection of the failed leadership of President Obama. He really is inept when it comes to the economy."

But the president seems not the only one to blame ...

S & P says political gridlock in Washington was part of the reason behind the cut, saying politics is preventing the US from addressing its deficit and debt problems, and the deficit reduction plan passed by Congress did not go far enough to stabilize the country's debt situation.

The cut is likely to eventually raise borrowing costs for the American government, companies and consumers.

As well as cutting the rating, S & P says the outlook is negative, meaning another downgrade is possible within two years.

Atmosphere in the stock market is also hard to gauge.

Friday's market started well with a soothing government report on US employment in July and the Dow Jones Industrial average rose more than 170 points after trading began.

But with the fear of the downgrade and Europe's debt crisis, the blue-chip stock index bounced up and down later, sometimes by as much as 100 points in less than half an hour.

Some analysts say the market had been deeply unsettled by fears of a downgrade, while some are cheering up.

Marilyn Cohen, president of Envision Capital,said, "Double-A Plus is not the end of the world. Is it a blemish? Absolutely, it is a huge blemish. But other countries have lived through downgrades and been better off afterwards."

Late on Friday, the US Treasury said the Rating agency's debt calculations were wrong by some 2 trillion US dollars. S & P confirmed it changed its economic assumptions after discussion with the Treasury but said it did not affect its decision to downgrade.