The news late August 5 of Standard and Poor's downgrading of U.S. credit for the first time in history sent uncertainty through debt and equity markets with unheralded speed. For the business appraisal community, the move has the potential to reach far and wide: from unsettling the certainty of a truly "risk-free" rate to potentially impacting the outlook and forecasts of many diverse and seemingly disparate industries. On August 16, BVR welcomes Ron Seigneur and Don DeGrazia for a special look at how this unprecedented change in the U.S. credit rating and the broader debate about U.S. debt—and its debt ceiling—will affect private company values, private company analysis, and the appraisal process as a whole.