FinancialYoung Blog![]() Other BlogsThe Pension Game Has ChangedAugust 08, 2010 Giving to A Greater Cause August 05, 2010 Playstation 3 helps Provide Profit July 29, 2010 Google Gets Greedy July 28, 2010 Hayward Out at BP July 27, 2010 Amongst All the Losers, We Have a Winner October 08, 2009 Newborns Be Living Longer October 07, 2009 George W. Bush: A President's Pension October 06, 2009 The $125 Million Dollar Mess October 05, 2009 Clinton Speaking Fee; Out of This World October 02, 2009 The Beginning of the End for the Rating Agencies? Texting While Driving September 30, 2009 This Day One Year Ago. A 777 Point Drop, Ouch! September 29, 2009 Go Where the Demand is, Right? September 28, 2009 The Great Disconnect September 25, 2009 3 Things to Remember When Buying a Mutual Fund September 24, 2009 Netflix Created Thanks to a Trip to the Gym September 23, 2009 There Will be Market Bubbles Again September 22, 2009 Match Your 401(k) Up Against the Match of Others September 21, 2009 Remember the NHL Lockout? September 15, 2009 Money Back Guarantee September 14, 2009 Home Prices Still Falling? September 11, 2009 Larry Ellison is Truly an Oracle at Oracle September 10, 2009 The Coolest Billionaire You've Never Heard Of September 04, 2009 Poor Nicholas Cage September 03, 2009 Ever Heard of Leonard Kleinrock? September 02, 2009 A year After the Carnage September 01, 2009 Disney Does it Again August 31, 2009 Oh No! August 27, 2009 Profit Margins Out of This World! August 25, 2009 Y Do We Type Like This? August 24, 2009 Vick, A #1 Seller August 21, 2009 Doesn't Seem Like it; Does It? 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January 15, 2009 Welcome November 28, 2008 test July 01, 2008 ![]() The Beginning of the End for the Rating Agencies?Rating agencies such as S&P, Moody’s and Fitch rate securities as to the credit quality of the underlying municipality and corporation, that are then sold to individual and institutional investors. It is this credit quality that investors have to decided how risky an investment possibly is, which is an extremely important piece of information to know before buying a certain investment. The problem is that those municipalities and corporations that are issuing the investments are the ones paying the rating agencies. That would be like the winning party of a litigation paying the judges salary; that would never happen and doesn’t make any reasonable sense. Yet, that is how rating agencies are paid, by those municipalities and corporations that are looking for a good credit rating. It’s a fact that the rating agencies poor judgment over the past couple years played a huge impact in the fall of many companies and investor wealth and many experts believe that S&P, Moody’s and Fitch’s (the 3 rating agencies) reputations are tarnished beyond what can be repaired. Currently, Congress is debating a bill that could possibly due away with the rating agencies. It is a very sensitive subject, because if the rating agencies are eliminated, that will put a lot more pressure on individual investors to do their own due diligence before buying these investments. |
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