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nakedcapitalism.com - 10/23/2008
S&P: "We'd Do a Deal Structured by Cows" And Other Rating Agency Dirty Linen
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Most eyes were on the plunging equity markets today, and the rating agencies must be plenty glad for the air cover. The House Oversight Committee unearthed some real dirt today. From CNBC (hat tip reader Michael ): In a hearing today before the House Oversight Committee, the credit rating ...
ft.com - 10/19/2008
FT.com / Arts & weekend / Magazine - When junk was gold
— ft.com — In the summer of 2002, John Diaz, a managing director at Moody’s Investors Service, was called before... a US Senate subcommittee investigating the collapse of Enron. The senators wanted to understand why Moody’s had said that the energy trader’s debt ... (more) FT.com / Arts & weekend / Magazine - When junk was gold

Comments vote down Paul Kedrosky's Infectious Greed found this 10/19/2008found this
hemscott.com - 10/18/2008
TEXT-Moody's release on Spanish financial system | TFN ...
— hemscott.com — TEXT-Moody's release on Spanish financial system Oct 17 (Reuters) - (The following statement was released by the... ratings agency) Oct 17 - Moody's Investors Service today commented on the new additional set of measures to support the Spanish financial ... (more) TEXT-Moody's release on Spanish ...

Comments vote down Spain Economy Watch found this 10/18/2008found this
bloomberg.com - 10/22/2008
Credit-Rating Companies `Sold Soul,' Employees Said (Correct)
— bloomberg.com — Credit-Rating Companies `Sold Soul,' Employees Said (Correct) By Lorraine Woellert and Dawn Kopecki (Corrects spelling of Sharma's... first name in 10th paragraph.) Oct. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Employees at Moody's Investors Service told executives that ... (more) Credit-Rating Companies `Sold Soul,' Employees Said ...

Comments vote down The Bonddad Blog found this 10/22/2008found this

Blog Reactions

Bear Mountain Bull:  Structured By Cows

Bespoke Investment Group:  What the Fed Giveth, the Ratings Agencies Taketh Away

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Blog Reactions

Structured By Cows
Bear Mountain Bull — I thought cows just flew around in parachutes carrying signs that said ‘Eat Mor Chikin’, but apparently they also put together financing deals and asked the ratings agencies to rate them. Have you seen some of the IMs floating around in the news today? I guess I could act like I’m shocked, but I’m not - it’s not much different than the sort of garbage that came out after the dotcom bust. Everyone knew that these ratings agencies were part of the whole scheme, and this just proves it. ...

What the Fed Giveth, the Ratings Agencies Taketh Away
Bespoke Investment Group — ... from December 16th.  Regardless of whether or not S&P's comments are 'new' news, it's amazing that even after the events of the last several months, the ratings agencies have any credibility at all.  In our view, the only certainty that can be drawn from S&P's statement is that GE is being run by people who at minimum have the intelligence of cows . ...

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Alt-A Losses Outstripping Expectations, Moody’s Says : HousingWire || financial news for the mortgage market
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Armageddon in Corporate Bonds
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CORRECTED - Moody's cuts New York Times rating to junk | Markets | Bonds News
reuters.com 1/23/2009 — (Corrects rating in second paragraph to "Ba3.") NEW YORK, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Moody's Investors Service on Friday cut its ratings on The New York Times Co ( NYT.N ) into junk territory, saying declining advertising revenues will continue to pressure ...
Rubber Stamp Agencies
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David Einhorn versus Warren Buffet on Moody's (MCO)
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