Moody’s Manual of Industrial and Miscellaneous Securities

Moody’s Investor Service is one of the most world-renowned sources for credit ratings, risk analysis and economic research. They currently serve over 9,300 customers at 2,400 institutions world-wide. According to the company page, their “ratings and analysis covers more than 100 sovereign nations, 12,000 corporate issuers, 29,000 public finance issuers and 96,000 structured finance obligations.” Their end goal is to give advice industry professionals and investors can use to protect their investments.

In this unruly sea of financial transactions and market uncertainties, Americans look to an investing service like Moody’s for guidance. With over 1,000 independent financial advisors, Moody’s represents a large body of professional economic experts. In their latest prediction, the financial market will continue to suffer throughout 2010. This month, Moody’s VP Craig Emrick stated, “We do not believe asset quality deterioration for the U.S. banking industry has reached its peak, and we therefore anticipate multiple quarters of losses for a large number of rated banks.” He added that 44% of the banks they rated showed net losses this year, but some residential real estate transactions have “caught up and surpassed [expectations] by some measures.”

In the past, Moody’s Investor Service has been accused of blackmail. German insurer Hannover Re claimed that a financial advisor at Moody’s offered him a “free rating,” which he politely declined. Following his refusal, Hannover’s debt was reduced to a “junk” rating and the company saw a swift 5 million loss in market value. Moody’s continued to issue free ratings to other companies surreptitiously but stood by claims that they were operating transparently. In July of 2008, the company admitted that some of its independent financial advisors had committed some serious errors and that disciplinary action was planned. “The integrity of our rating process is core to Moody’s values and is essential to the market,” Raymond McDaniel, the CEO of Moody’s, said in a written statement. “If an error occurs, it is crucial that rating committees consider possible rating changes and disclosures in an appropriate manner.”

Some people have argued for reform of Moody’s Investor Service and other rating agencies like it. “Ratings services still exert significant influence, if only because clients still adhere to old methodologies,” William H. Gross of the Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO) told the NY Times in an email. Some argue that a government advisory council should oversee the rating process, since, in the end, it is the government that winds up bailing out these failed financial institutions like Lehman Brothers. Others say the issuer-payer model that was introduced in the seventies needs to be eliminated because it’s a conflict of interest.

Sarah Lomas is a foremost expert in the natural yeast infection no more. She has had extensive experience and conducted countless experiments in finding natural remedy for cure for yeast infection. She is also a highly acclaimed writer in the yeast infection field.