Debt ceiling chaos could still trigger U.S. credit downgrade

"It's not just the debt limit," James McCormack, Fitch Ratings' managing director and global head of sovereign and supranational ratings, said in an interview. "What we've seen in the United States is a steady deterioration in governance." McCormack says his team has spoken with officials at Treasury, on Capitol Hill and at Washington think tanks as they weigh a decision that's expected in the coming months. "That is typically part of our review process," he said. "It's not simply a desk analysis that we do without speaking with parties in D.C." A downgrade could shake confidence in the world's premier…