Moody's – News Stories About Moody's - Page 3

Ohio Sues Credit Rating Agencies for Role in Crisis

Nov 20, 2009 3:29 PM CST

Ohio Sues Credit Rating Agencies for Role in Crisis

Moody's, S&P, Fitch lied about risk of toxic securities, AG charges

(Newser) - Ohio's attorney general sued the three biggest credit-rating agencies today on behalf of state employee retirement funds that lost $457 million in complex securities that imploded in the financial crisis. Richard Cordray alleges Moody's, Standard & Poor's, and Fitch conspired with issuers of the high-risk investments to give top ratings...

Looking for Extra Credit, Schools Get Downgraded

May 29, 2009 9:06 AM CDT

Looking for Extra Credit, Schools Get Downgraded

(Newser) - The credit crunch is starting to hit even top-tier universities, the Wall Street Journal reports. Both Moody’s and S&P stripped Dartmouth of its AAA rating this week. It’s the 20th college Moody’s has downgraded this year. “That’s comparable to the rate of downgrades universities...

Rating Agency Again Judges USA AAA

May 27, 2009 11:28 AM CDT

Rating Agency Again Judges USA AAA

Uncle Sam's debt holds steady despite 'negative pressure'

(Newser) - Moody’s today reassured investors that the United States government won’t lose its AAA credit rating…yet. Last week Standard & Poor warned that it might soon drop Britain’s debt rating, sparking panic that other governments could follow. A Moody’s VP said the US’ rating is the...

Credit Rating Agencies Off-Base But Bullet-Proof

ANALYSIS

May 1, 2009 2:54 PM CDT

Credit Rating Agencies Off-Base But Bullet-Proof

(Newser) - Until the day Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy, all three of the major credit-ratings agencies swore its debt was safe, rating it A or better. They rated AIG at AA. And they gave 75% of the $3.2 trillion of subprime mortgage securities iron-clad AAA ratings. Moody’s, S&P and...

Moody's Downgrades Buffett

Apr 8, 2009 9:31 PM CDT

Moody's Downgrades Buffett

(Newser) - Warren Buffett's oracle aura took another hit today. Moody's downgraded his Berkshire Hathaway from its top Aaa rating to Aa2, citing "a severe decline in equity markets," the Wall Street Journal reports. The move follows a similar move by Fitch Ratings last month for Berkshire, whose shares are...

Disgraced Credit Raters
See Windfall in Fed Plan

Mar 20, 2009 10:49 AM CDT

Disgraced Credit Raters See Windfall in Fed Plan

Moody's, S&P could earn big rating Fed bond deals

(Newser) - Credit-rating companies faulted for their role in creating the financial crisis could rake in more than $1 billion in Ben Bernanke’s new plan to prop up the financial system, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Fed is planning $7 billion worth of bond deals, and they'll need the approval...

Moody's Names
283 Companies
Likely to Default

Mar 10, 2009 6:41 AM CDT

Moody's Names 283 Companies Likely to Default

(Newser) - Credit-ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service today released what it calls “The Bottom Rung,” a list of 283 companies—15% of all those it tracks—it says are most likely to default on their debts. Moody’s has been widely lambasted for failing to catch the credit problems...

Investors Flee GE
Despite Soaring Profits

Mar 5, 2009 7:00 AM CST

Investors Flee GE Despite Soaring Profits

Fears about GE's capital arm and a possible loss of AAA rating stoke concerns

(Newser) - General Electric, long considered a reliable growth company paying an attractive dividend, is taking a beating ahead of a possible cut to its AAA debt rating, Bloomberg reports. Though GE recently posted its third-highest annual profit ever, the company has lost $264 billion in market value in 12 months and...

Dow Plummets to Below 12,000

MARKETS

Jun 20, 2008 3:34 PM CDT

Dow Plummets to Below 12,000

An oil boost and continued financial woes batter the markets

(Newser) - The markets tumbled today to lows not seen since the Bear Stearns fiasco in March, MarketWatch reports. Oil surged back over $135 a barrel, erasing yesterday’s meager gains, and bad news continued to depress financials. The Dow fell 220.40 to 11,842.69, the Nasdaq 55.87 to...

Stocks Again Stuck in Neutral

MARKETS

Jun 4, 2008 3:42 PM CDT

Stocks Again Stuck in Neutral

Conflicting news on financials hinders the market

(Newser) - The markets finished mixed today as fears over the financial sector clashed with positive economic reports. Moody’s said it may downgrade ratings for Ambac Financial and MBIA because of continued mortgage-related losses, MarketWatch reports, helping the Dow down 12.37 to 12,390.48. The Nasdaq gained 22.66,...

Municipalities Challenge
Bond Ratings

Mar 3, 2008 12:20 PM CST

Municipalities Challenge Bond Ratings

Local officials say double standard cheats taxpayers

(Newser) - City and state officials are mounting a rebellion against bond rating firms they say are siphoning off billions of taxpayer dollars by giving them unfairly low credit ratings, the New York Times reports. Even though municipal bonds are generally safer than those issued by corporations, municipalities get lower credit scores,...

Bush Mortgage Plan Arrives

Dec 6, 2007 3:01 PM CST

Bush Mortgage Plan Arrives

1.2M homes at risk in crisis could be saved, he says; critics charge it's not enough

(Newser) - The White House today released its plan to help homeowners threatened by the subprime crisis, asserting 1.2 million could be helped—but only 240,000 of 2.2 million rate resets due next year are covered, CNN reports. The five-year interest rate freeze doesn’t apply to borrowers 30...