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JUNE 15, 2011, 9:09 A.M. ET Moody's Warns On French Banks, Eyes Other Euro-Zone Banks By Elena Berton Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES PARIS (Dow Jones)--Moody's Investor Service warned Wednesday it may downgrade French banks because of their high exposure to Greece, saying the net could soon be widened to include banks elsewhere in the euro zone as European officials struggle to agree a new Greek aid package. France's three largest banks by market value, BNP Paribas SA (BNP.FR), Credit Agricole SA (ACA.FR) and Societe Generale SA (GLE.FR), were put on review for possible downgrades over the potential impact on earnings...

As lawmakers scramble to cut a budget deal and avoid defaulting on U.S. debt, the head of a top Chinese rating agency claims it's too late. Guan Jianzhong, president of Dagong Global Credit Rating Co. Ltd., reportedly told state media that the United States has already defaulted by letting the U.S. dollar weaken. "In our opinion, the United States has already been defaulting," Guan was quoted as saying, according to AFP. China, likewise, has long come under criticism for allowing its currency to weaken. But while Dagong Global is known for being tough on the U.S., Guan's words carry extra...

Ratings agency Moody's warned on Thursday it would consider cutting the United States' coveted top-notch credit rating if the White House and Congress do not make progress by mid-July in talks to raise the debt limit. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, seeking to convince Congress to increase his borrowing authority and prevent a government default, went to Capitol Hill to press his case in a 45-minute meeting with first-term lawmakers. "I am confident that two things are going to happen this summer," Geithner told reporters after the meeting. "One is that we are going to avoid a default crisis and we...

Moody's Investor's Service said it would place the government's Aaa rating under review for a possible downgrade due to the "very small but rising risk" of a short-lived default if the White House and Republican leaders can't agree on raising the nation's debt ceiling, which has already hit $14.3 trillion. Moody's announcement followed the lead set by S&P, which announced in April that it was downgrading the U.S. credit outlook to negative over the nation's mounting debt. The news was just the latest sign of the massive financial problems facing the nation as the economy's recovery sputters. ... Rep. Dave...

Moody's Investors Service has today downgraded Greece's local and foreign currency bond ratings to Caa1 from B1, and assigned a negative outlook to the ratings. The rating action concludes the review for possible downgrade that the rating agency initiated on 9 May 2011.

This is actually pretty funny. Moody's is out with a new comment about the debt ceiling fight (via @zerohedge). The ratings agency expects the debt ceiling to be passed, but... they say that if it looks like the US might default, America's pristine credit rating would have to be placed "under review." Seriously!? OBVIOUSLY if a default appeared likely, then the US rating should be under review. In fact, it should be downgraded. And in fact, it should be downgraded a lot, since a default is basically the worst thing possible for bond investors. And in fact, Moody's should probably...

Moody's is warning that unless we change our ways, our bonds will be downgraded. This doesn't mean it will happen or happen anytime soon. We're not going to slide to junk bond status tomorrow, although if Obama can't be stopped, who knows where our rating will end up. But if you listen to these guys, they don't sound real confident we'll be able to change. The Wall Street Journal: "Moody's Investors Service said in a report on Thursday that the U.S. will need to reverse the expansion of its debt if it hopes to keep its 'Aaa' rating. 'We have...

Two leading credit rating agencies on Thursday cautioned the U.S. on its credit rating, expressing concern over a deteriorating fiscal situation that they say needs correction. Moody's Investors Service said in a report Thursday that the U.S. will need to reverse an upward trajectory in the debt ratios to support its triple-A rating. "We have become increasingly clear about the fact that if there are not offsetting measures to reverse the deterioration in negative fundamentals in the U.S., the likelihood of a negative outlook over the next two years will increase," said Sarah Carlson, senior analyst at Moody's. Standard &...

Jim Sinclair’s Commentary Moody’s had taken comfort in their role of the short of the euro play. They took protection in Federal court from suits over the accuracy of ratings based on free speech. Legally that is looking shaky but they still have Federal Court to take comfort in. The second they downgrade US credit, they have signed their litigation death warrant. They know this and might be playing a game of chicken.

Tax Deal: The media are touting a rating agency's schizophrenic claim that keeping the Bush tax rates helps the economy, but hurts the country's credit standing. Are ratings firms even relevant anymore? Manhattan Institute senior fellow Nicole Gelinas, in her richly detailed analysis of the roots of the financial crisis, "After the Fall: Saving Capitalism from Wall Street — and Washington," pulls back the curtain and exposes the ugly reality of the once all-powerful credit ratings agencies Moody's, Fitch and Standard & Poor's. "Reliance on ratings agencies contravenes market principles," Gelinas warns. "The ratings-agency world is small and homogeneous, populated...

Moody's says Spain banking outlook "negative" Katell Abiven, 12:30, Monday 13 December 2010 Credit rating agency Moody's issued a negative outlook on Spain's banks on Monday and warned that total economic losses could reach 176 billion euros. New York (Xetra: A0DKRK - news) -based Moody's Investors Service said it was maintaining a negative view for the next 12-18 months because it expected Spanish banks' capital, profits and access to finance to remain weak. The verdict comes as Spain battles to convince nervous markets that its finances are solid and there is no reason to fear it will need an Irish-style...

Moody's Worried US Tax Cuts Could Become Permanent Tuesday, 07 Dec 2010 01:37 PM Moody's Investors Service is worried the extension of U.S. tax cuts agreed by President Barack Obama and Republican leaders could become permanent, hurting U.S. finances and its credit ratings in the long run. Steven Hess, Moody's lead sovereign analyst for the United States, said on Tuesday doesn't foresee any change in the U.S. AAA ratings in the next 18 months to two years. He is, however, concerned about "what's going to happen in two years," when the extensions are set to expire again. "The timing two...

Moody's Investors Service Inc. said a permanent extension of the tax cuts first enacted under former President George W. Bush won't lead to a downgrade of the nation's credit rating....frpa

For many years, I’ve been a fan of Warren Buffett’s long term approach to value investing. Understanding the value of a company, regardless of its momentary stock price, is a great long term investing strategy. But it pains me whenever I read commentary from Buffett that glosses over reality or is somehow self-serving. His OpEd in the NYT today – Pretty Good for Government Work – paints an artificially rosy picture of the Bailout, ignores the negatives, and omits his own financial interest in government actions. What might he have written if Sir Warren was dosed with some sodium pentothal...

Moody's, one of the nation's big credit-rating agencies, issued a report Tuesday that said California's next budget deficit is expected to be "at least $12 billion" after state lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger approved a spedning plan that "relies heavily on one-time measures, optimistic revenue assumptions and the receipt of funds, some of which may not materialize."

The U.S. government needs to elaborate a credible plan to address its soaring debt in order to maintain its Aaa credit rating, Moody's Investors Service's told Dow Jones newswire.

The recently passed Donk (Dodd-Frank) Finreg abomination, which nobody has yet read is finally starting to disclose some of the interesting side effects of its harried passage. Such as that the rating agencies may have suddenly become extinct. As the WSJ's Anusha Shrivastava discloses: "The nation's three dominant credit-ratings providers have made an urgent new request of their clients: Please don't use our credit ratings." The Moodies of the world suddenly have good reason to not want their name appearing next to those three A letters (at least in Goldman CDO and bankrupt sovereign cases) out there: "The new law...

Moody's Investors Service on Monday downgraded Greece government bond ratings into junk territory, citing the risks in the euro zone/IMF rescue package for the debt-laden country. The agency downgraded the rating by four notches to Ba1, placing it one notch into junk status. The outlook is stable. Moody's also downgraded Greece's short-term issuer rating to not-prime from Prime-1.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The outlook on the United States' coveted AAA credit rating remains stable, though the government's financial strength is weakening due to its support for the financial system, Moody's Investors Service said on Tuesday. Structural fundamentals, political stability and favorable economic prospects are supporting the stable outlook, despite rising debt ratios, Moody's said. The United States' finances have been substantially worsened by the credit crisis, recession, and government spending to address these shocks, Moody's said. "The ratios of general government debt to gross domestic product and to revenue are deteriorating sharply, and after the crisis they are...

Moody's stock (MCO) is getting slammed this morning on the shocking news that the SEC has hit it with a "Wells Notice" that could lead to the SEC's preventing the company from acting as a rating agency. How did the market learn about the Wells Notice? Because Moody's was apparently forced to disclose it in its latest SEC filing. (The company tried to hide the news deep in the 10Q, even burying it within a broader paragraph, but investors found it). So here's our question: If the Wells Notice is material enough for Moody's to have to disclose it in...