fitch ratings

The Supreme Court kept up its corporatist streak Monday, handing down two key decisions that were certain to please the Chamber of Commerce. The first helped Wal-Mart quash a massive class action sex discrimination suit; the second stopped states from suing power companies over greenhouse gas emissions.

After an exhaustive examination, DailyFinance's legal reporter comes to a clear verdict. Banks have done three things to create the massive glut of foreclosures choking America's legal systems and laying waste to its real estate markets.

Fitch Ratings has downgraded Ireland three notches from A to BBB , citing the costs of restructuring the Irish banking system, the country's weak growth prospects, and uncertainty about its economy due to the deepening financial crisis, despite the international economic assistance it received last month.

In the debt and credit mess that now extends clear across Europe, Fitch Ratings has put the U.K. on notice to get its finances into much better shape -- pronto.

The massive financial reform legislation now winding around Capitol Hill promises to seriously rearrange the rating agencies' formerly cozy and profitable business. Here's a look at what's coming.

Citigroup (C) has hired 1,400 more employees to ramp up its mortgage modification troops and work more quickly with homeowners who could benefit from President Obama's Home Affordable Modification Program. But, unfortunately for many homeowners, it may be too little too late. Banks have been...

In the latest sign that the global recession has Ireland's "Celtic Tiger" in its cross hairs, credit rating firm Moody's Investors Service stripped the country's debt of its coveted highest rating today and said another downgrade could be coming. The cause? According to Moody's, Ireland's costly...

Uber-investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) is in danger of losing its credit rating from Standard & Poor's, the credit rating firm said Tuesday, citing concerns that losses on equity investments are sapping the company's strength. Fitch Ratings, another big bond rater, already...