ratings agencies

Sell-side analysts are often criticized for acting too slowly when it come to downgrading companies and lowering estimates. That means if you rely on the experts, you'll be reacting late too.

Until this point it would have been natural to assume that Congress would put aside partisan concerns and increase our borrowing capacity, as it has done 74 times since 1962. However, with the Aug. 2 deadline nearing and both parties continuing to bicker, investors need to consider how the looming...

Here's a look at what's happening in the world of business Monday, July 18. No More Debt Ceiling, Moody's Shouts It appears that we here at the Financial Landscape are not the only ones sick to death of the debt ceiling debate: Even the good people of the ratings agency Moody's (MCO) -- who,...

On Monday, a group of institutional investors sued Countrywide and Bank of America over Countrywide's mortgages practices. The bank is accused of issuing vast numbers of loans using methods that went beyond lax standards and into fraud, with the sole goal of repackaging them into securities to resell with inflated ratings.

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.

Standard & Poor's is revamping its credit rating methodology for banks and financial institutions in a way that may cause about 40% of rated banks to get a downgrade, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

The U.S. Aaa credit rating won't be under pressure from budget deficits in 2010 or 2011, Moody's Investors Service (MOD) said. The White House budget office projects that the federal deficit will top $1.5 trillion this year. "Certainly over time, and I'm not talking about this year or next, but...

The mortgage-backed securities meltdown whose effects still haunt our economy sprang from a simple cause: The rules of the game gave big incentives to every player involved to ignore the problems and keep collecting their fees. And despite financial reform, those rules haven't changed much.

In Wednesday's legal news, the Texas Attorney General has appealed a judge's decision to grant a divorce to two men who were married out of state; the SEC vows to pursue overseas ratings fraud; and companies that incorrectly claim their products are patented can be sued for $500 per product.

Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo received some not so good news late Tuesday as Moody's Investors Service lowered their outlook to negative because of a new law that will likely lower the possibility of government bailouts.