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 Standard & Poor's announced Friday night that it downgraded the credit rating of the United States for the first time, dealing a symbolic blow to the world's economic superpower in what was a sharply worded critique of the American political system, “San Francisco Chronicle” reported.

Lowering the nation's rating to one notch below triple-A, the credit rating company said "political brinksmanship" in the debate over the debt had made the U.S. government's ability to manage its finances "less stable, less effective and less predictable." It said the bipartisan agreement reached this week to find at least $2.1 trillion in budget savings fell short of what was necessary to tame the nation's debt over time and predicted that leaders would not be likely to achieve more savings in the future.

"It's always possible the rating will come back, but we don't think it's coming back any time soon," said David Beers, head of S&P's sovereign debt rating unit.

The decision came after an afternoon of furious debate between the Obama administration and S&P.