A view shows the Standard & Poor's building in New York's financial district February 5, 2013. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid A view shows the Standard & Poor's building in New York's financial district Thomson Reuters
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Standard & Poor's said on Tuesday the United States would maintain its AA+ credit rating, its second highest, as long as the federal government avoids a default even if it does not increase the debt ceiling in a timely manner.
"If the debt ceiling is not raised in a timely way, we expect, at a AA+ level of confidence, that the government will take necessary measures to avoid default on the debt which our ratings address," Robert Sifon-Arevalo, a managing director in S&P's sovereign ratings group, said in a statement.

(Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)