Love Those Ratings Agencies Too

WOW! I just read that the ratings agencies may have facilitated the selling of these toxic investment schemes. These derivatives. Here's what Paul Krugman of the NY Times said was happening, based on the released emails by the Senate Permanent Sub Committee on Investigations. The ratings agencies were in competition for business. Whichever got the go ahead to rate one of these toxic investments got paid. Well Paid. The way to get the business was to give this garbage an AAA rating. So the trusted Moody's and Standard and Poor's were putting their stamps of approval and the recommendation to buy, on these things. With that AAA rating, lots of funds got suckered in. So, ya see? It was a con game. Complete with shills and everything. Yes siree bob, These guys are real pros. No small town street corner thugs, these guys are clean, lily-white pros. If they got suckered out of a twenty dollar bill, they'd run screaming to the cops. Good citizens ya know. But when it comes to the big con, these guys win the kewpie doll. Remember the movie The Sting? Well that was small potatoes. In fact it was tiny potatoes compared to what these guys were pulling off. And they didn't pick just some crook. They were hitting on big investment funds like your retirement fund. You know, the one where you lost so much that you won't be able to retire for another hundred years. Unless, of course, you're invested in the same fund as these guys. Then you may be safe. Unless they find out you're in the fund too.