McClatchy:
As the housing market collapsed in late 2007, Moody's Investors Service, whose investment ratings were widely trusted, responded by purging analysts and executives who warned of trouble and promoting those who helped Wall Street plunge the country into its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
Rep. Edolphus Towns: Credit Rating Agencies and the Next Financial Crisis
The Moody's business model of "Leave No Fingerprints" might be alright if the credit rating agencies had not played a starring role in the collapse of the financial system. For that reason, this cannot continue.
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Every time we try to do something against Moodys and other rating agencies, a PR leak occurs that threatens to lower the US credit rating. We need to get rid of them as they currently operate and fast since this is not a coincidence at all. They cannot receive money from those that have a vested interest in what they rate. Period.
president obama PRETENDING NOT TO NOTICE this story - HYPER-INFLATED appraisals AT THE CORE of the Real Estate bubble busting - is a case of abject corruption!
Mr. Obama swore an oath to UPHOLD THE LAWS and constitution.... (and, thereby, to PROTECT American citizens from lawbreakers & fraudsters),
.....NOT to "find bipartisan harmony" with Wall Street banksters and their hired lobbyists congress & media flacks.
We must all wake up and realize that Wall Street is nothing but a Ponzi Scheme ....and the party is over....
We need less sensationalism and more reporting about the problems real people face on a day by day basis. There's a lot of angry & scared people who have lost jobs, house, and sanity.
good articles; http://ow.ly/dmzm
Need more change from Obama
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Experts such as Columbia University's Coffee think that Congress must impose some legal liability on credit rating agencies. Otherwise, they'll remain "just one more conflicted gatekeeper," and the process of pooling loans — essential to the flow of credit — will remain paralyzed and economic recovery restrained.
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I recommend pricing and fines based on the game show "The Price Is Right"; reward ratings agencies for getting close to real rate of default of each company's debt pool, but fine the heck out of them for over-rating. In fact, fine them in the amount of the defaulted debt they failed to predict.
I agree with Balanced Solution. This country is atrocious. When you lose the ethical structure of consciousness, which defines every move, every action, every result....that loss precipitates the decline of a civilization.
When we get vignettes of the all the old Obama speeches, It makes me sick....because Obama didn't believe a word of what he was saying....about transparency, getting the lobbyists out of Washington, accountability for the Banksters.
Obama is, and always was....a shill for the establishment folks...an actor playing a role to get elected, and bring about a soft landing for the financial establishment. Why, oh why....all the former Goldman Sachs executives in his Administration? It is merely a reflection of his intent.
the war for our democracy against corporate takeover has already begun. put up these posters to fight back.
download and distribute!
http://www.scribd.com/doc/21140663/wallst
http://www.scribd.com/doc/21261649/Corporate-Lobbyists-Are-At-War-With-America
RATINGS AGENCIES WERE JUST PART OF THE WALL STREET SCAM!
BANKS SOLD THE FAKE "AAA" STUFF = Misrepresentation of Products = FRAUD
Just watched on CSPAN three so called "EXPERTS" say "Unfortunately Wall Street Broke NO LAWS!"
I nearly Fell out of my chair with Amazement!
* G0LDMAN and WallSt set up subsidiaries to develop sub-prime loans to feed into their DERIVATIVES MAKING MACHINES. Sub-prime loans were "SURE FAIL TRICK&TRAP" Mortgages, and were legal through buying their legality. No Crime!
* It is what they then did with those "SURE-FAIL" mortgages that is Illegal violating TWO important Laws: Manufactured "1nsider Trading" and Selling "Product they Misrepresented" to their buyers.
1. “PREMED1TATED MANUFACTURED 1NSIDER TRAD1NG”
a. Make SureFail Mortgage Products knowing they will fail
b. Buy Massive and Repeated A1G CreditDefaultSwaps Bets that the “SURE FAIL Derivatives” would FAIL!
Make it to fail&bet it will fail: "Manufactured-Insider-Trading" 100% Sure BETS.
2. Misrepresentation of High Risk Products and sold as Low Risk"AAA" Product all over the World.
__________ __________ _
Laws on books - LACKING IS AN HONEST ADMINISTRATION TO PROSECUTE!
“Misrepresentation” is contract law concept, meaning false statement of fact made by one party to another party, which has effect of inducing that party into a contract. For example, false statements/promises made by seller of goods regarding the quality/nature of the product that the seller has may constitute misrepresentation.
“Insider Trading” is trading securities by individuals with access to non-public information about product/company. Taking advantage of non-public information by an insider during performance of insider's duties, or in breach of fiduciary duty/relationship of trust/confidence.
So abolish mandatory credit ratings from one of the big three. Republicans/conservatives have been advocating it for years.
All credibility is shot; of the people involved and of the process. It has been decided by those in the various positions that pushed to have certain regulations terminated and other substituted in their place.
There is nothing that can be done to fix this now.
The whole world understands this.
Where's the justice. . i have no idea if moody's is still a company anymore and could care less.
But if i were an employee there and got fired based on letting management know truth, i would sue their ass off.
Government needs to do a thorough investigation and bring senior management to trial.
This country is atrocious. America isn't a melting pot, nor a salad bowl. We are a stupid nation that let's people get away with crap as long as they have friends in high places, or a ton of money.
This country is on the precipice of a long drawn out depression feeling recession.
I think i speak for the American people when i say we want justice.
OBAMA - We elected you to change the country. Not to keep the same criminals in high places.
Understand you are being blocked by banks and healthcare, but you can make changes in Treasury Dept. and Justice Dept... Make it Happen. Take a Tony Robbins course.
I used to not understand how Rome fell....now it is so completely clear...and that the country I live in NOW is ROME.
Why does the non story of the century about balloon boy get ten times as many comments as this blockbuster?
Because this is not really news. Most of us already knew this.
I wonder if the Moody's office prominently display a 'Better Business Bureau' plaque near their front desk receptionist to show they're 'in good standing' with the BBB. Like most scam operations.
I couldn't understand, when this whole collapse was happening, why these rating companies weren't brought to light as the villains they are. Had they been doing their jobs, a lot of what went down wouldn't have had a chance to happen. There are a lot of would've, should've, could'ves, but this is one instance where all they had to do, was their job, to change a host of other irregularities from being possible.
Some of their questionable ratings practices have been written about going back to the mid-1990s (e.g., Frank Partnoy's book "Fiasco"). There is unfortunately very little real investigative journalism in the MSM that gets much attention, though, until a crisis flares up. CNBC, Fox Business, etc., were little more than cheerleaders for the Wall St bankers while this housing bubble was building.
Funny how back then if you questioned these types of companies people would just say that the SEC was overlooking them and how people couldn't see how the whole system could be that corrupt. I just feel sorry for us in the future because Americans tend to have very short memories in these cases.
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First Posted: 10-18-09 08:44 AM | Updated: 10-18-09 09:09 AM