by Joel Baglole

This warning comes as the leading credit rating agency emphasizes the importance of Congress continuing to fund the federal government past the end of the current fiscal year on Sept. 30.

Failure to continue funding the government could have dire consequences for the economy and stock markets. According to the rating agency, that would result in a damaging downgrade from the current top "AAA" credit rating enjoyed by the United States.

A Warning From the Credit Rating Agencies

Moody's currently assigns the U.S. government its highest credit rating and gives the country a "stable outlook." However, Moody's is the last major credit rating agency to maintain the highest rating on the United States. Earlier this year, Fitch Ratings downgraded the U.S. government one notch to "AA+." That's the same rating that S&P Global assigned the U.S. back in 2011 following a "similar debt ceiling fight."

Both Fitch and S&P Global cited political dysfunction in Washington, D.C. and growing debt concerns as the main reasons for their lowered U.S. credit ratings. Fitch noted the continual political brinkmanship that takes place with regards to raising the ceiling on the federal debt (which now stands at $33 trillion) as well as growing risks that the U.S. might default on its debt payments — a historic event that would destabilize the global economy and send stocks into a tailspin. Now, Moody’s is raising those same concerns.