S&P says fiscal cliff impasse won't spark credit downgrade

New York (CNNMoney) - Standard & Poor's said Friday that the fiscal cliff gridlock in Washington is unlikely to spark an additional downgrade of the country's credit rating.

S&P made headlines in August of 2011 by knocking the U.S. down from AAA status to to AA+ following the political wrangling over the debt ceiling. At the time, the rating agency said the affair showed "America's governance and policymaking becoming less stable, less effective, and less predictable."