Greek debt downgraded to junk, Markets dive

Post #325,333 by jay 4/27/10 4:07:31 PM Reply	Greek debt downgraded to junk, Markets dive http://money.cnn.com...newyork/index.htm Greece: Standard & Poor's cut its ratings on Greece's long-term debt status to "BB+" with a negative outlook from "BBB+." The double-B plus rating is considered to be speculative or "junk," and reflects the ratings agency's concern about Greece's long-term ability to get out from underneath the its current fiscal crisis. S&P cut Greece's short-term debt even lower. The finance hearings probably didn't help, but the markets where flat until the downgrade hit. After that we got a double nose dive, pushing down under 11,000 again. Standard & Poors doesn't quite say it, but the downgrade seems based on the EU and Germany in particular taking a hard line on Greece. No easy bailout, any bailout will be small, come with hard preconditions and that probably means bond holders will have to take a cut also. Jay
Post #325,335 by drook 4/27/10 4:32:42 PM Reply	Why does anyone still listen to them? Hasn't it been amply demonstrated that the ratings agencies are full of shit? They don't have any special insight. They don't -- as far as I know -- have access to any information that would make their analysis particularly compelling. The only thing they seem to do is publicize a zeitgeist. It's by its very nature self-fulfilling. -- Drew
Post #325,340 by static 4/27/10 9:04:09 PM Reply	People listen to them because everyone else does. Cringely made the summary understandable: http://www.cringely....10/04/the-t-word/ It's all about who trusts whose analysis. Or, to put it a perhaps more cynical way, who is the least untrustworthy. Wade. Q:Is it proper to eat cheeseburgers with your fingers? A:No, the fingers should be eaten separately.

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