Bloomberg reported this morning that Moody's, S&P Lose Some Credibility With New Credit Derivatives -- some credibility!? How about massive amounts of credibility? Their stocks are down, the markets are down, and these credit rating companies have a lot of explaining to do.
I have already done my rant about this topic in Subprime = Triple-A ratings? or 'How to Lie with Statistics', but there is always more.
So far, however, there has been nothing but lame excuses. In truth it is silly to ask them how they could give such risky investment instruments their highest ratings, because in truth there are no good answers. They should not have done so.
It reminds me of a comedy skit Bill Cosby did years ago when he wondered out loud why we ask our kids certain questions like, "why did you hit your brother with that baseball bat?" and then quizzed, "Is there an answer that would make you happy? Is there something the child could say that would satisfy you?" Of course not, and the same is true now with the ratings companies.I have already done my rant about this topic in Subprime = Triple-A ratings? or 'How to Lie with Statistics', but there is always more.
Why do we have a weak dollar?
Holiday hiring slow for retailers
Closing Bell: What sell-off? (AIG, ABK, EPR, MBI, JAVA, ORCL, ERTS)
