Why is blaming the generation before you not: 'a method of shrugging responsibility' but blaming politicians & bankers(ya know, the people that actually run the cuntry) is: 'a method of shrugging responsibility' ? Lolzers!!!
Insert a "current" before the politicans. I'm a strong believer in not needing to be told what to do to make the right choice for oneself. Blaming politicians is similar to saying "why aren't you telling me not to do the things that are bad for me, rather than making it possible to do things that are bad for me". Extremely simplistic I appreciate. Sure, politicians in the past supported (this is not the same as manufacturing or instigating, before you think that) a growing culture of borrowing beyond means, and very likely profited from it. It still took the decisions of millions, perhaps billions of people to participate and continue participating in it to make it worthwhile for them. Vote with your feet and all that?
Insurance??! Is the insurance industry still relying on these idiots' ratings?! That is a recipe for disaster. If not, then why does this make headlines?
The regulator will require they have safe asset to pay their potential liabilities. The same for pensions.
^ wot he said. Given insurance is much less volatile and doesn't respond to markets in that way, it doesn't have much effect really, apart from signing a piece of paper. You could say that's really bad in that the piece of paper has no credibility, but rating agencies use concrete data to output very mathematically standardised and calculated opinions. Those generally flatten out the short term fluctuations of the market, so big changes take a very long time to filter through to a publicised downgrade. I mean Italy and Greece (PIGS in general actually), were downgraded months after the damage was done. The short term fluctuations are generally driven by a cluster of personal opinions that are driven by opinion and instinct. That opinion and instinct is also an input for many high frequency models, but they have much more specific goals than a rating agency. Rating agencies are an overview. Fluctuations in the market as reported in the news are far more specific most of the time, and generally printed without context in the public media. It is quite amusing how redundant the rating agencies are in some ways. Any serious business involved in the markets will be using much more real time and real interpretation data, either interpreted from Reuters by their own employees, some independent financial analyst company, or indeed both for the big boys in the industry.
Well, headlines are just good PR firstly. It's in the rating agency's interest to make their product appear valuable - instilling fear via PR is a good way of doing that. There is still an implication that being downgraded is bad. The timing of it no longer matters though, is what I was trying to say, as the financial market will have adjusted for it way before it actually happens. Basically, if economic implosion was going to happen, the rating agencies would only catch up way after it happens.
Reviving an old thread because I was bored and this seems relevant,especially with what I said about rating agencies earlier - "Credit Rating Agencies and Brazil: S&P as Neoliberal Enforcer" http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2015...ies-and-brazil-sp-as-neoliberal-enforcer.html Time and time again these bull crap spewers have been proven wrong, yet they have the audacity to release their smug reports and try to influence politics for the worse. These agencies should seriously be raided and people arrested for outright lies to harm the country.
An interesting read. As much as I despise rating agencies - it's a bit of a hard one to argue against here. I think they've probably augmented it in the wrong way, but Brazil ostensibly are pretty ****ed as their inflation is just stupidly out of control. They are essentially on the tail end of a growth bubble afforded by credit. I long for the day that the ratings industry becomes more competitive and less influential, but this isn't the sword that will do the blow it needs.
Sorry, I didn't get it. Argue against what? Well, considering the amount of damage they seem to do with their lies, I think you are being a bit too soft on them. Especially when you consider this is a developing country with no social safety nets like the UK. As a matter of fact, if one actually puts in the time, one can easily find out that they are very much responsible(along with other actors) for the current suffering being caused by the financial crisis. Here's another example - this time its Finland! - http://www.coppolacomment.com/2015/09/more-economic-insanity.html Either these people really have ulterior motives or they really believe in what they say/write, much like Hitler and his fellows did. I cant think of any other reason for their activities.
I'm saying rating agencies aren't entirely or even majority responsible for what Brazil is going through right now. I generally agree with you though - there badly needs more competition and accountability in this space of the financial markets, but pointing fingers at them for something they didn't really do is not the way to go about it.
