DOW JONES NEWSWIRES <B>Standard & Poor's Ratings Services downgraded Nevada by a notch, citing the state's "severe economic cyclicality."</B> The ratings firm cut Nevada to AA from AA+, leaving it two notches below AAA, which is the highest possible credit rating. Its outlook on the state is stable, indicating that an additional upgrade or downgrade in the near term isn't very likely. S&P said the state's economic cyclicality "as demonstrated in recent years, can limit its growth and growth prospects given a relatively heavy dependence on discretionary consumer spending." Nevada was hit especially hard by the recession, as the state was rocked by the housing downturn as well as a sharp dropoff in travel and consumer spending. Still, Nevada has a strong credit rating, and S&P noted that it has "consistently good financial liquidity on both an intra- and interyear basis" as well as "good constitutional protections" and low total debt relative to the state's economy. -By Nathan Becker, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2855; nathan.becker@dowjones.com http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110310-716549.html Nevada aka Greece. No hint of a positive attempt at spin on this, oh no wait... lets keep smiling an no one will notice.