Comments on: Feel-Good Story of the Day http://baselinescenario.com/2009/05/28/feel-good-story-of-the-day/ What happened to the global economy and what we can do about it Sat, 11 Feb 2012 08:48:43 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Bond Girl http://baselinescenario.com/2009/05/28/feel-good-story-of-the-day/#comment-15920 Sun, 31 May 2009 14:53:25 +0000 http://baselinescenario.com/?p=3873#comment-15920 Um, hardly.

]]> By: Bond Girl http://baselinescenario.com/2009/05/28/feel-good-story-of-the-day/#comment-15919 Sun, 31 May 2009 14:52:06 +0000 http://baselinescenario.com/?p=3873#comment-15919 I do not work for a rating agency and saying that ratings are subjective is hadly defending the rating agencies.

]]> By: strike three http://baselinescenario.com/2009/05/28/feel-good-story-of-the-day/#comment-15818 Sat, 30 May 2009 01:28:17 +0000 http://baselinescenario.com/?p=3873#comment-15818 Is this a case of closing the barn door after all the horses have escaped?

]]> By: Pigs are fighting swine « Stocks Go Up. Stocks Go Down. http://baselinescenario.com/2009/05/28/feel-good-story-of-the-day/#comment-15817 Sat, 30 May 2009 00:08:39 +0000 http://baselinescenario.com/?p=3873#comment-15817 [...] are fighting swine Jump to Comments Citi v. S&P: Calculated Risk reports that Citigroup is livid that S&P would have the audacity to downgrade [...]

]]> By: Ted K http://baselinescenario.com/2009/05/28/feel-good-story-of-the-day/#comment-15815 Fri, 29 May 2009 21:28:28 +0000 http://baselinescenario.com/?p=3873#comment-15815 Bondgirl, which one of these Credit Rating Agencies do you work for??? (he asked, then guffawed)

]]> By: Art http://baselinescenario.com/2009/05/28/feel-good-story-of-the-day/#comment-15810 Fri, 29 May 2009 19:09:23 +0000 http://baselinescenario.com/?p=3873#comment-15810 The CRAs are constitutionally privileged to make false statements. For first amendment purposes they are on par with the NYT and the rest of the press, like it or not (you read them right after the sports or style sections, right?). They can not be sued and certainly not punished no matter how wrong they get it. This shields them from all kinds of suits, not just defamation actions. At the risk of sounding like Greenspan, this market should be self-correcting. Investors should not be relying on their opinions any more, so issuers should have no need for their services.

]]> By: redleg http://baselinescenario.com/2009/05/28/feel-good-story-of-the-day/#comment-15801 Fri, 29 May 2009 17:15:39 +0000 http://baselinescenario.com/?p=3873#comment-15801 I especially like that this could disqualify “assets” from PPIP! Yay!

]]> By: anne http://baselinescenario.com/2009/05/28/feel-good-story-of-the-day/#comment-15794 Fri, 29 May 2009 16:20:43 +0000 http://baselinescenario.com/?p=3873#comment-15794 I like that a bank is feeling something other than smug about their worth and performance.

]]> By: Andrew Baumgardt http://baselinescenario.com/2009/05/28/feel-good-story-of-the-day/#comment-15785 Fri, 29 May 2009 15:06:30 +0000 http://baselinescenario.com/?p=3873#comment-15785 Sounds to me like this marriage is in the process of breaking up. Husband and wife are starting to blame each other now that the disfunctional but symbiotic relationship dynamics no longer work for their mutual benefit.

I for one hope this ends in a nasty divorce so that we can once again get independent rating agencies who look to get paid by the asset purchasers rather than the debt issuers.

]]> By: Patrice Ayme http://baselinescenario.com/2009/05/28/feel-good-story-of-the-day/#comment-15783 Fri, 29 May 2009 14:58:51 +0000 http://baselinescenario.com/?p=3873#comment-15783 How can there be “financial innovations” without appreciating first the risks involved?

What about a strict enforcing a strict deontology, everybody (bankers, raters) under oath, and stiff punishment if not? After all bankers, as it is, are in charge of creating everybody’s money… Such is the essence of the fractional reserve system lauded by Obama…

]]> By: Manshu http://baselinescenario.com/2009/05/28/feel-good-story-of-the-day/#comment-15773 Fri, 29 May 2009 13:46:20 +0000 http://baselinescenario.com/?p=3873#comment-15773 Actually, I saw quite a few real feel good stories today. Japan’s exports rising, GDP shrinking less than expected, India’s GDP rising more than expected. Good Friday today.

]]> By: Bond Girl http://baselinescenario.com/2009/05/28/feel-good-story-of-the-day/#comment-15770 Fri, 29 May 2009 12:58:22 +0000 http://baselinescenario.com/?p=3873#comment-15770 Even if the conflicts of interest posed by the rating agencies’ compensation model were removed, ratings would still make poor standards for use in regulations.

With even the most basic securities, there is still a tremendous amount of subjectivity involved in the ratings process and in deciding when to change a rating once conditions deteriorate. When financial innovations are introduced, the rating agencies can still legitimately fail to appreciate the risks involved on a grand scale. Anyone can.

]]> By: bobgreenfest http://baselinescenario.com/2009/05/28/feel-good-story-of-the-day/#comment-15767 Fri, 29 May 2009 12:11:17 +0000 http://baselinescenario.com/?p=3873#comment-15767 When the mediocrity of rating agencies was favoring the too big to fail banks, no one ever heard a peep from the banks. Now, when the same mediocrity isn’t playing nicely with the banks, the banks publically complain. Really good stuff! See http://www.bobgreenfest.wordpress.com for additional insights.

]]> By: Fred H Schlegel http://baselinescenario.com/2009/05/28/feel-good-story-of-the-day/#comment-15752 Fri, 29 May 2009 04:39:34 +0000 http://baselinescenario.com/?p=3873#comment-15752 I like the idea of banks and rating agencies arguing in public. Loud discussion does make it harder to hide things under the rug.

]]> By: Ted K http://baselinescenario.com/2009/05/28/feel-good-story-of-the-day/#comment-15751 Fri, 29 May 2009 04:20:56 +0000 http://baselinescenario.com/?p=3873#comment-15751 James Kwak’s beautiful phrase “Some marriages truly last forever” BEAUTIFUL…. BEAUTIFUL……. BEAUTIFUL. Classic. I gotta find a way to get that entire posting in audio form, and replay it over and over and over. Robert Frost couldn’t write a stanza that touched my heart so deeply. By the way I’ve belonged to a credit union my entire life. Guys like Warren Spector and Alan D. Schwartz can eat my underwear. Mr. Kwak, what do you mean “feel good story of the DAY”???? Feel good story of the MONTH!!!!!!!!!!

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