Al Jazeera Interview on Credit Rating Agencies
The Credit Rating agencies have helped cause this crisis by (a) being for profit organizations whose ratings are paid for by the sellers of financial instruments and (b) giving advice that might be useful in episodic events but which makes systemic crises worse.
Video Rating: 4 / 5
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keen missed one of the biggest points about the credit rating agencies: they all are licensed by the us government. moody’s and S&P have to have the gov’t provide them with a license to rate bonds, treasuries, etc. so there is clearly a conflict of interest there.
@optionsupdate. The name is Steve.
this presenter is very beautiful, wonder what her name is
The credit rating agencies aren’t businesses in their own right; they work in collaboration with the big financial services corporations and the accountancy firms to effectively invent value from nothing… what they’re doing now is trying to protect their clients/collaborators from the devaluation of their assets, even if it destroys the economy of every country in europe. Go look at Yves Smith’s Naked Capitalist blog and anything by Steve Keen.
Another excellent interview by Steve – I found a link to it on the Zetaboards Australian Property Forum. This downturn will be steeper and sharper than 89-91. Debt is at crazy levels today, much worse than during the nineties. Australia has a major debt problem that needs to be addressed. But at the moment it’s not even being acknowledged by the mainstream press!