(This guest post originally appeared at NewDeal2.0)
Americas Triple AAA credit rating could be at risk should its nascent economic revival not develop into a full-blown recovery, Moodys Investor Service warned yesterday. The credit ratings agency cautioned that if the US were to grow at slower pace than expected, the largest economy in the worlds already-extended finances could be over-stretched, in turn damaging its AAA credit rating.
Sound familiar? The so-called Big Three ratings agencies have been making claims like this for years: in Japan, the UK and, now, the United States. It is worth recalling that these are the same organizations which, as recently as 2007, were conferring Triple AAA ratings on subprime mortgage paper. Did that work out well for you?
The real news here is that anybody takes anything these discredited rating agencies say seriously. As my colleague, Randy Wray, has already suggested, the top three ratings agencies Moodys, Fitch, and S&P should all be ignored. In fact, Wray is right to suggest that we should prohibit regulated and protected institutions from using any ratings by this group. Their history of failure makes my beloved Toronto Maple Leafs seem like a veritable hockey dynasty in comparison.
Why The Moody's Warning About US Debt Is Pure Nonsense
The fight club is now in session. Have at it boys and girls!
Americas Triple AAA credit rating could be at risk should its nascent economic revival not develop into a full-blown recovery, Moodys Investor Service warned yesterday. The credit ratings agency cautioned that if the US were to grow at slower pace than expected, the largest economy in the worlds already-extended finances could be over-stretched, in turn damaging its AAA credit rating.
Sound familiar? The so-called Big Three ratings agencies have been making claims like this for years: in Japan, the UK and, now, the United States. It is worth recalling that these are the same organizations which, as recently as 2007, were conferring Triple AAA ratings on subprime mortgage paper. Did that work out well for you?
The real news here is that anybody takes anything these discredited rating agencies say seriously. As my colleague, Randy Wray, has already suggested, the top three ratings agencies Moodys, Fitch, and S&P should all be ignored. In fact, Wray is right to suggest that we should prohibit regulated and protected institutions from using any ratings by this group. Their history of failure makes my beloved Toronto Maple Leafs seem like a veritable hockey dynasty in comparison.
Why The Moody's Warning About US Debt Is Pure Nonsense
The fight club is now in session. Have at it boys and girls!