Tag:
credit rating agencies
Latest Headlines
Latest Headlines
Mortgage market prognosis: Little change
For all the angst in the mortgage market since the financial crisis tanked the economy, we have yet to really find any consensus about an all new market structure.
The problems of the past were obvious in hindsight. We can point to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and their gross excesses. We can po
Credit rating agencies set to comply with 17g-7
Recall that in January, the SEC Securities and Exchange Commission adopted rules required under Dodd-Frank that included a requirement that all NRSROs include a report with every credit report that clearly lays out the representations, warranties and enforcement mechanisms available to investors a
New study casts doubt on Moody's methodology
The debacle over the decision by Standard & Poor's to downgrade U.S. Treasury debt to AA+ from AAA will likely come back to haunt it. It will likely come to haunt other debt rating companies as well.
Case in point: Fortune magazine notes a recent study by academics at Indiana Universit
The ultimate irony: Treasuries soar!
Standard & Poor's decision--whether foolish or smart--led to a lot of angst in the markets, as big institutions sold out of stocks and sought safe haven of ... Treasury securities.
Now hold on a second. Didn't S&P just declare to the world that the creditworthiness of the U.S. governme
Standard & Poor's U.S. downgrade dilemma
As the debt crisis muddles on, the big credit rating agencies--mainly Standard & Poor's and Moody's--injected themselves into the debate by making clear that the AAA ratings for U.S. Treasuries were at risk. Both said that a deal to raise the debt ceiling was not necessarily enough to en
Fed prepares for new approach on credit rating agencies
And the alternative to credit ratings would be what exactly?
This has been a big question since the 2007 financial crisis, and the subsequent tarring and feathering or credit rating agencies. Their role was front and center for the most of the crisis and aftermath, their way-too-generous AAA r
Credit raters' warnings on U.S. debt carrying less weight
Fitch Ratings became the last of the big three credit rating agencies to weigh in on the U.S. debt situation, issuing a report that suggests that if the government cannot find a way to raise the statutory debt limit, the agency would have no choice but to seriously reconsider its AAA rating of U.S
Credit rating agencies competing to be the toughest
Is this a reflection of the new credit rating industry in action? We've noted that the financial reform movement didn't radically alter the credit rating business, to the chagrin of some critics who predict issuers will continue to shop around for the agency that will play ball with them.
Fo
Meredith Whitney still under fire for muni prediction
Analyst Meredith Whitney may enjoy rock star status on Wall Street, but that rank comes with a downside--lots of scrutiny. Case in point: Her bold prediction of a super-bear market in municipal bonds. In a lengthy report that was heavily marketed, her firm forecasted a lot of pain and perhaps 50 t
Credit rating woes still linger
A recent Reuters column carried this headline: "Rating structured bonds is impossible." It's a sentiment many would share in the wake of the CDO meltdown. Despite lots of criticism, there hasn't been a revolutionary shift in the way structure debt is rated. The big ratings agencies are still p
