Ferguson Lowered to Junk by Moody's With City Facing Insolvency
A photographer runs by a burning building during a demonstration in Ferguson, Missouri, on on Nov. 25, 2014.
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Ferguson, Missouri, the St. Louis suburb that became a center of protests against racial injustice by police, had its credit rating cut to junk by Moody’s Investors Service because of “severe and rapid” deterioration of its finances.
Ferguson was criticized by the Justice Department this year for violating residents’ civil rights with heavy-handed police tactics in order to raise money with fines. As it negotiated a settlement with the federal government, the city’s key revenues have fallen, Moody’s said in a statement Thursday.