Is Moody's a trojan horse rather than a rating agency?

Well spotted!

There was a time when rating agencies were shadowy organisations basking in relative obscurity. Not anymore. Each of these soothsaying outfits pops up on a regular basis to pontificate about countries and companies. The more they say things the more things get worse.

The Daily Telegraph reports Paul Richardson, of Surrey-based Concept Financial Planning, saying, "Consumer confidence is already weak but what Moody's has done could make things even worse. The Chancellor has done his best to reassure savers, saying he is confident that British banks are well capitalised. But many savers will immediately feel more exposed on the back of this news. That Moody's insists that these downgrades do not reflect a deterioration in the strength of the banking system is irrelevant. This is all about perception and the perception will only be bad. Moody's will have its reasons, of course, but many will see this mass-downgrade as an overreaction - and one that could do the banks and the country serious damage if it causes panic."

So now the British government has to waste its time calming the people who are already minded to keep a tight rein on their spending. Fear about job losses is probably far more irrational than rational, but it permeates most of us. Moody's has just given us more to chew over. Are they trying to break the British economy? They surely aren't helping it.

It's like a trojan horse coming into the yard, except that this horse has all its weapons on the outside. Do we need to be bothered by them? If David Buick of BGC Partners is anyone to go by the answer is - "NO!"

And I've found this on the net which I think makes for interesting reading. 

MOODY'S ANALYST BREAKS SILENCE: Says Ratings Agency Rotten To Core With Conflicts

How rotten we can only guess, but the smell of roses may not be filling the air!

Posted in: credit rating,debt crisis,Moody's