how prime AAA becomes BBB- junk

[sniglet]

My eyes almost pop out when I see stuff like this. Looking over a recent list of Countrywide securities that Fitch is downgrading I notice that some of them are going right from AAA to BBB-. Talk about a change! That's going from the best of the best to the worst of the worst in one stroke of the pen.

It really makes a guy wonder what ratings mean anyway if a ratings agency can come by later and just say "oops, we made a mistake and this investment grade asset is now worthless".

Does anyone still think we should trust the professionals who tell us everything is hunky dory? Analysts at Fitch and Moody still claim that the default rates of many mortgage securities won't increase substantially. And these were the same guys who still claimed these (now downgraded) junk securities were investment quality just a few months ago.

[TJ_98370]

The ratings agencies have been taking some heat lately:


..

[deejayoh]

[SeattleMoose]

[TJ_98370]