Posted on 08/08/2011 7:50:32 AM PDT by STARWISE
Credit rating agency Standard and Poor's on Monday downgraded the debt of mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The downgrades to AA+ are part of the continued fallout from the agency's decision to drop U.S. sovereign debt to AA+, an unprecedented move that rattled investors and sparked concern over the long-term impact of the action
It was widely expected that S&P's downgrade of U.S. debt would roll downhill to other entities that are closely linked to the federal government.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
.. Ping!
There IS a silver lining to this mess!
Why were they ever formed? Oh yeah, I forgot. More bogus promises from politicians that do nothing but create bureaucracies and enrich their cronies. Silly me.
“Why weren’t they downgraded years ago?”
Because US Gov has been providing a guarantee. This is no surprise—the guaranteed party or security is usually rated the same as the guarantor.
One word answer: "Barney".
Thanks STAR, I was a sec from posting.
Joe Biden: Blame Tea Party terrorists!
McCain: Blame the hobbits!
Bwarney Fwank: Blame military spending!
Barky: Tax the rich!
Looks like Wall Steet is leveling the playing field on the rich...
Barky and Geithner: Growing the middle class...one former millionaire at a time!
This will really help the mortgage business. I’d think it’s be a good bet since the government is paying off the investors. Then again, maybe the government is not planning on staying in business.
They should have been dismantled several years ago!!!
Ouch! That's gonna leave a dent!
Tea Parties Fault.
Why weren’t they downgraded years ago?
______________________________________
Good question. I have another even more important question.
Why are we not investigating how Franklin Raines, Gorelick, and company cooked the books to get over 100 million dollars in bonuses making the entire situation worse. The statute of limitations is almost up and the mortgage debacle costs taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars. Compare it to the aggressive investigation of Enron and Madoff.
Enquiring minds want to know. Where is Issa on this?
Ah, yes, I forgot about that. When government is cut (and it will be, one way or the other), that is where the howls will be heard. I wonder what percentage of the black middle class is employed by government?
Why are we not investigating how Franklin Raines, Gorelick,
~~~~~~~~~
They and Jim Johnson needed to be in orange jumpsuits for life.
Uh, actually, it wasn’t until recently that they were backstopped by Uncle Sugar.
The bonds of Fannie/Freddie were not guaranteed until the moment when the PRC looked at the potential losses in the US RMBS market and started selling off their $300B position in July of 2008.
Then Paulson and the Bush administration slapped a guarantee on the bonds, followed by taking Fannie/Freddie into the government in September, 2008.
The one thing that Greenspan got right in his career at the Fed was telling Congress (repeatedly) about the market mis-pricing Fannie/Freddie debt, pricing it as tho it were guaranteed when it wasn’t. At that point, the GSE paper should never have been AAA - it should have been nothing higher than AA.
Democrats have a blanket immunities in all matters.
Democrats seek to pin credit downgrade on tea party
Partisan gridlock is real culprit, S&P says
Barf alert.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/aug/7/democrats-seek-to-pin-credit-downgrade-on-tea-part/
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