Keyword: rating agencies
Bonds vs Stocks (1/23/2010)
Bonds and stocks are alternative means of business financing where bonds offer steady income while stocks offer potentially substantial capital gains to investors.
Keywords: coupon rate, default, investment grade spread, junk bonds, rating agencies, Treasury bonds, yield
Bubble Economics (6/17/2010)
Run-away securitization of housing mortgages abetted by loose credit rating, shaky credit default swaps, and cheap money led to a huge housing bubble in the US.
Keywords: ABS, Asset-backed securities, bubble, CDO, CDS, collateralized debt obligations, credit default swaps, interest rate, mortgage-backed securities, rating agencies, securitization, subprime loans
Under Water (1/22/2010)
Securitization of mortgage loans has fueled a US housing bubble whose bursting has put one in four mortgages under water.
Keywords: CDS, credit default swaps, housing bubble, mortgage-backed securities, rating agencies, securitization, subprime loans
Who Rates the Raters? (6/17/2010)
Bond rating agencies found it hard to serve both the interests of bond investors and bond issuers since they were directly paid by bond issuers for favorable ratings.
Keywords: bond, Investment grade, mortgage-backed securities, rating agencies, subprime mortgage