Rating agencies Market turmoil in the wake of the subprime mortgage crisis has again raised questions about the accuracy of agencies’ ratings and conflicts of interest
Agency cuts its rating on six European sovereign credits and shifts its outlook for Austria, France and the UK to ‘negative’
Lawmakers to grill Moody’s and S&P
French central bank chief attacks rating agencies
Charge that agency destabilising bloc on eve of key deal
Europe’s top financial regulator bows to objections
Moody’s, the credit rating agency, said it was beginning disciplinary proceedings against some of its staff as it admitted it had incorrectly rated about $1bn of complex debt securities due to a computer error
When bankers at groups such as ABN Amro first dreamed up the concept of constant proportion debt obligations almost two years ago, many analysts regarded the idea as the epitome of a credit bubble gone mad
While the political mood remains hostile to rating agencies – which, it must be said, have not done themselves many favours – there is a clear risk that ill-considered proposals are legislated in haste, writes Howard Davies
Why, after their ill-starred role in bringing the financial house down, does anyone still take them even faintly seriously, writes Philip Stephens
Regulation must not be at the expense of well-functioning activities of the capital markets, writes Martin Fridson
What politicians blame the rating agencies for is saying things that governments wish they could conceal, writes Christopher Caldwell
The European Commission should free up, not close down, the industry
The rating agencies themselves are asking to be freed from their quasi-regulatory role. How to do so must be policymakers’ aim
Everybody hates the rating agencies. But last week, they did us a favour. They showed that populism will not work, writes Wolfgang Münchau
Aside from being tactless, I cannot see what S&P did wrong, writes John Gapper
In their desire for reform, European policymakers have produced draft proposals ranging from counter-productive to downright unworkable
