Bill Gross deeply saddened as Moody's affirms Aaa rating for the US
Filed under: Economy
Poor Bill Gross! The $747 billion bond maven who has enjoyed countless benefits from the U.S. bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and some juicy looking government contracts -- such as his $251 billion commercial paper program and its $500 billion fund to buy mortgage-backed securities -- can't get his predictions right. In February he told me that stocks were dead, and they gained over 14 percent. Then last week he said that the U.S. would lose its Aaa rating thanks to its debt.
And today, Warren Buffett's Moody's (MCO) went ahead and decided to kick sand in Bill Gross's face yet again. How so? Moody's affirmed the U.S.'s Aaa rating, arguing that "the U.S. economy's long-term resilience and key role in global affairs should bolster its ability to resume a strong performance following the current recession."
Is this a murky pro-Obama conspiracy led by Warren Buffett? What does Obama have against Bill Gross? Or, perhaps more importantly, with all the government contracts and bailouts that Gross has enjoyed, why does he feel compelled to bite the hand that feeds him while making bad predictions in the process?
I don't know, but I am happy to protect his right to express his viewpoint freely. That's what makes America great!
Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College. His eighth book is You Can't Order Change: Lessons from Jim McNerney's Turnaround at Boeing. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned.
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