Moody's Investor Services has lowered its default risk prediction, thanks to the positive news coming out of the debt ceiling negotiations in Washington this week. "We have heard positive news coming out of Washington," said William Foster, senior credit officer at Moody's, in an interview on Wednesday, before House Speaker Kevin McCarthy issued the latest optimistic signal. "Political leaders have been very clear and conscious in emphasizing that default is not an option. So from a rating standpoint, it's a good thing for us in terms of how we view default risk."