Just one in 14 believe economy will pick up In AAA-rated Sweden, 73% said their economy was in "good" shape, and in Germany, which also has an AAA score, the figure was 65%. But bullishness appeared to be declining in the US, where only 29% of Americans described their economy as "good," down two points on December's figure. Simon Atkinson, deputy chief executive at Ipsos MORI, said: "The loss of the AAA rating has of course been a shock to the politicians. But it is unlikely to change the mood among the public - they downgraded their assessment of the economy some years ago. These figures, like some of our economic data, have flatlined. The public need inspiration from somewhere but, at the moment they aren't seeing green shoots anywhere. Moody's, the credit ratings agency, downgraded the UK's rating this month. Kenneth Clarke, the former chancellor and now minister without portfolio, has admitted it could take the country years to get it back. At the global rather than the local level, economic confidence assessments have continued to improve, with 37% of people across all the countries surveyed in the poll believing their current national economic situation is "good."