Tag: D.C.

Moody’s cuts D.C. rating outlook to match U.S.; holds steady on Florida, Maryland, Virginia

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://fixedincome.fidelity.com/ftgw/fi/FINewsArticle?id=202311131727SM______BNDBUYER_0000018b-c9ff-d00d-ad8b-ebff49580002_110.1

Excerpt:

Moody’s Investors Service (MCO) revised its rating outlook for the Aaa-rated District of Columbia to negative Monday, matching its Friday action on the United States government.

At the same time, the rating agency affirmed the Aaa issuer ratings and stable outlooks of Florida, Maryland and Virginia.

The actions follow Friday’s outlook revision on the United States to negative from stable by Moody’s while it affirmed the U.S. sovereign rating at Aaa.

Moody’s said the main reason for the negative outlook on the United States was its assessment that “the downside risks to the U.S.’ fiscal strength have increased and may no longer be fully offset by the sovereign’s unique credit strengths.

“In the context of higher interest rates, without effective fiscal policy measures to reduce government spending or increase revenues, Moody’s expects that the U.S.’ fiscal deficits will remain very large, significantly weakening debt affordability,” the rating agency said. “Continued political polarization within U.S. Congress raises the risk that successive governments will not be able to reach consensus on a fiscal plan to slow the decline in debt affordability.”

Author(s): Chip Barnett

Publication Date: 13 Nov 2023

Publication Site: Fidelity Fixed Income – Bond Buyer

Ransomware crooks post cops’ psych evaluations after talks with DC police stall

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/05/ransomware-crooks-post-cops-psych-evaluations-after-talks-with-dc-police-stall/?mc_cid=c0c5baa839&mc_eid=983bcf5922

Excerpt:

A ransomware gang that hacked the District of Columbia’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) in April posted personnel records on Tuesday that revealed highly sensitive details for almost two dozen officers, including the results of psychological assessments and polygraph tests; driver’s license images; fingerprints; social security numbers; dates of birth; and residential, financial, and marriage histories.

….

The operators demanded $4 million in exchange for a promise not to publish any more information and provide a decryption key that would restore the data.

“You are a state institution, treat your data with respect and think about their price,” the operators said, according to the transcript. “They cost even more than 4,000,000, do you understand that?”

“Our final proposal is to offer to pay $100,000 to prevent the release of the stolen data,” the MPD negotiator eventually replied. “If this offer is not acceptable, then it seems our conversation is complete. I think we understand the consequences of not reaching an agreement. We are OK with that outcome.”

Author(s): Dan Goodin

Publication Date: 11 May 2021

Publication Site: Ars Technica

How Losing At Least 375 Businesses Since Last March Reshaped D.C.

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.npr.org/local/305/2021/03/12/976091647/how-losing-at-least-375-businesses-since-last-march-reshaped-d-c

Graphic:

Excerpt:

At least 235 brick-and-mortar businesses have closed permanently in D.C. since the first known coronavirus case was reported on March 7, 2020, with 100 more shuttered temporarily, a count by DCist/WAMU found. (The status of another 40 is unknown.)

As of December, more than 36,000 residents were unemployed — a 77% increase over the prior year. Downtown D.C., once an economic engine that contributed nearly 16% of the city’s tax revenue in 2019, is today an effigy of its former self. At night, the bars and restaurants that propelled so much of D.C.’s economic growth seem funereal without scores of intoxicated revelers streaming through the doors and swiping their credit cards.

Author(s): ALLY SCHWEITZER

Publication Date: 12 March 2021

Publication Site: NPR