Moody's warns U.S. on debt ceiling

[Poll_Blind]

Source: CNN

Moody's put Congress on notice Thursday, warning that it will review the United States for a downgrade if it doesn't see progress on raising the debt ceiling. The rating agency blamed fractious politicians for failing to address the unsustainable U.S. debt position. Public debt now exceeds 60% of annual economic output and is growing at a good clip thanks to trillion-dollar-plus budget deficits.

That fix seems to call for firm action, but instead what we have is a game of chicken that looks increasingly likely to make Lehman Brothers' collapse look like a lazy afternoon's game of croquet. Thanks so much, John Boehner.

Moody's said the political standoff raises the risk that the government will do nothing to put itself on firmer financial footing between now and next year's presidential elections – which would push the United States another step toward the long feared loss of its triple-A rating.

"Failure to reach an agreement as part of the current negotiations would increase the likelihood of a negative outlook in the near term, because the upward debt trajectory would still be in place," Moody's said. "At present, this appears the most likely outcome."

Read more: http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/06/02/moodys-warns-u-s-on-debt-ceiling/

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This is...not good.

PB

[xchrom]

1. moodys? -- if i were made Queen tomorrow -- you & the credit rating agencies

would be among the first in line for the guillotine.

go fuck yourselves -- useless leeches the lot of you.

[totodeinhere]

3. If we got rid of the credit rating agencies, how could we tell who is credit worthy and who is not?

I don't necessarily disagree with you, but I was just wondering what if anything would take Moody's place and would it be any better.

[xchrom]

5. well -- they're not telling you who is & who isn't either.

they're notoriously untrustworthy, criminal or criminally stupid.

[louis-t]

7. Moody's gave bundled subprime mortgages a AAA rating.

Look how that turned out.

[txlibdem]

19. +1000

Moody's, et. al., have zero credibility. All the US gov't has to do is pay them a couple million and our rating will be AAAA++ (even though the scale doesn't even go up that high).

[JackRiddler]

27. You mean, like their excellent work in putting AAA ratings on the scam CDOs sold by the TBTFs?

By their business model -- sellers of bonds pay them for ratings -- they will NEVER be reliable.

They give Goldman & Co. what they want in exchange for money. They made the financial meltdown possible in the way it happened. They're at the heart of the corruption.

Then they turn around and provide the free "service" of rating governments... but here, they go by the classic bankster criteria. They're for austerity. They terrorize governments into accepting IMF/ECB packages with threats of downgrades.

If you want an objective credit rating agency, then it can't go by this model. One possibility: Bond issuers should be required to pay a fee that is split among the agencies, with the choice of agency being random. Then they can't shop for the best rating.

[wordpix]

26. yeah, the same moody's that said all the crap real estate securities et al were highly rated

:rofl: yeah, I'm going to listen to that group of a-holes

[harun]

2. This would be good to see if I thought Moody's was any less corrupt than

Congress. Which I of course doubt.

[rfranklin]

4. Moody's CEO admits derivative ratings were a scam...

Moody's Chief Says CDO Ratings Were `Deeply Disappointing'
By Matthew Leising and Andrew Frye - Jun 2, 2010 Moody’s Corp. Chief Executive Officer Raymond McDaniel said his company’s ratings of collateralized debt obligations and residential mortgage securities in the past several years have been “deeply disappointing.”

McDaniel said the collapse of the housing market and subsequent economic slump were of a magnitude “many of us would have once thought unimaginable,” according to written testimony submitted to the U.S. Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission for a hearing today in New York on credit ratings. He said he is proud of Moody’s reputation and the firm’s record of 100 years of rating trillions of dollars in debt.

“However, the performance of our credit ratings for U.S. residential mortgage-backed securities and related collateralized debt obligations over the past several years has been deeply disappointing,” he said. “Moody’s is certainly not satisfied with the performance of these ratings.”

Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings face scrutiny by Congress and state insurance regulators after assigning top grades to U.S. subprime-mortgage bonds just before that market collapsed in 2007, sparking the financial crisis. Moody’s said last month it may be sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for filing false and misleading descriptions of its credit-ratings policies.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2010-06-02/moody-s-chief-mcdaniel-says-ratings-of-cdos-were-deeply-disappointing-.html

[iamhuman]

6. Let me see lets pass a law that help just me and I already have a good goverment job but.. I can so

Let me see lets pass a law that help just me and I already have a good government job but.. I can so sc***ew the peons/tax payers (slave's)

http://insidertrading.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=001514

I mean if Martha Steward wanted to stay out of jail she should have been working with us.(the politicians)


In 2007, the 10 wealthiest US Senators traded stocks in a total of 45 different companies spanning finance, insurance, oil, pharmaceutical, telecom, and other industries.
Those 45 businesses also received $18 billion in federal appropriations that same year.


Can anyone say banana republic

If you can't get why there was a bail out that didn't help any body but wall street.
well then you think voting Republican or Democrat changes something.



IM

All of that stuff wouldn't bother me so much if we didn't like killing people everywhere

[closeupready]

8. They play an essential part of that piece of Wall St. kabuki theater known as due diligence.

Part of the "Too Big to Fail" show. So, this cautionary press release is merely going through the motions, IMHO.

[OHdem10]

9. Why the Republican Party permits the Tea Party(who shown they

have no understanding of Government Finances) to put us
in this position, baffles me.

[Ship of Fools]

10. perhaps

repubs want totally destruction to gain power back, using the TP as patsies. wouldn't put it past them.

just one woman's opinion. :)

[Javaman]

16. I find it amusing that some repukes honestly believe they will escape

completely unharmed if they allow total destruction.

They will burn right along with the rest of us. Frankly, probably a bit worse.

[OwnedByFerrets]

11. Repugs would LOVE for this to happen....then they could point fingers

[Poll_Blind]

12. I can't say what I think should happen to legislators who allow this to happen.

It'd be against the rules, here. But it goes without saying it would be an absolutely new low in American politics to score some political maneuver and it would backfire like putting your hand in a lawnmower's blade well.

PB

[Aerows]

13. Moody's has about as much credibility as Bernard Madoff

And is nearly as ethical.

[jtuck004]

14. Did someone forget to send the check to Moody's again?

We can borrow huge amounts of real money based on their opinion, and their opinion only costs a few bucks. (see: Sachs, Goldman). Sure, we create money by putting zeroes in computers, but it's not like we must have any real assets - we will just tell you they are valued at what we say they are (see: AIG, misrepresentation). And with some of the expertise we have (see: Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Famous Ponzi Schemes) we might even be able to structure it so another country has to bail us out, because we are too big to fail.

[Javaman]

15. And out comes boner boy to demand that the debt ceiling be raised this month...

I guess his bottom line will be effected so he finally had a hint of sanity dawn on him.

[Poll_Blind]

17. Yeah, I saw someone posted that and I thought it was both interesting and an indicator...

...just exactly how full of shit they are, and their political posturing. This is still a really fucking dangerous game they play, regardless of if they swerve at the last moment.

PB

[John_Adams]

18. Well, at least at can't get this bad...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-02/moody-s-downgrade-puts-greece-in-debt-rating-hall-of-shame-alongside-cuba.html

[unkachuck]

20. "Moody's put Congress on notice..."

"The rating agency blamed fractious politicians..."

....did you hear that, baggers?....our corporate Masters are blaming you and have put you and your stooges 'on notice'....

....you'd better pay attention and shape-up or you'll be losing your grip on the Puke Party scum you elected....

[Vinee]

21. I wish my credit rating would improve by borrowing more money.

I would have an excellent credit rating for sure.

[onehandle]

22. Moody's sounds alarm over U.S. debt limit and deficits

Source: Reuters

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Ratings agency Moody's warned on Thursday it would consider cutting the United States' coveted top-notch credit rating if the White House and Congress do not make progress by mid-July in talks to raise the debt limit.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, seeking to convince Congress to increase his borrowing authority and prevent a government default, went to Capitol Hill to press his case in a 45-minute meeting with first-term lawmakers.

"I am confident that two things are going to happen this summer," Geithner told reporters after the meeting. "One is that we are going to avoid a default crisis and we are going to reach agreement on a long-term fiscal plan."

The meeting occurred just hours after Moody's Investors warned that slow-moving deficit talks led by Vice President Joe Biden, hindered by entrenched positions on both sides, had increased the odds of a short-lived default by Washington.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110603/bs_nm/us_usa_debt

[Turbineguy]

23. Moody's will help

the GOP destroy the US.

[rfranklin]

24. I agree...it's part of an orchestrated attack...

to force their "austerity" onto the poor and middle class Americans.

[Vinee]

25. How so?