Standard & Poor's

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  EU Watchdog Growls at Ratings Agencies

  By Marlene Y. Satter, AdvisorOne  |  December 7, 2011

  The European Union agency that presides over the ratings actions of the likes of Moody's, Standard & Poor's, and Fitch Ratings has begun an investigation into how they arrive at rankings for sovereign bonds and other debt, and it warns that if wrongdoing is uncovered, the penalties could be severe.

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  Eurozone Ministers May Seek IMF Help

  By Marlene Y. Satter, AdvisorOne  |  November 30, 2011

  Although eurozone ministers agreed Tuesday to boost the value of the rescue fund, they acknowledged that they might call on the International Monetary Fund for help to do so after Italy's borrowing costs soared nearly to 8%, a euro lifetime high.

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  China Cuts Reserve Ratio

  By Marlene Y. Satter, AdvisorOne  |  November 30, 2011

  In a sign that China's red-hot economy is cooling down, for the first time in three years Beijing took the brakes off. China's central bank cut the required reserve ratio for the country's banks, in an action taken Wednesday that was designed to ease credit and boost economic activity.

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  S&P Ratings Overhaul Hits Banks Hard

  By Marlene Y. Satter, AdvisorOne  |  November 30, 2011

  Standard & Poor's revamped its ratings criteria and lowered the ratings of 15 U.S. and European banks by one notch on Tuesday, leaving 20 more bank ratings unchanged and raising two by a notch apiece.

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  Four Strong Companies With Stable Dividends Might Beat Treasuries

  By John Sullivan, AdvisorOne  |  November 28, 2011

  Slipping quality, miniscule returns—emerging market banana republic? Actually, U.S. Treasury bonds.

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  Moving Beyond the Supercommittee: Schwab Responds

  By Danielle Andrus, AdvisorOne  |  November 23, 2011

  The Schwab Center for Financial Research released a statement, 'Beyond the Supercommittee,' late Tuesday following the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction’s failure to reach an agreement on how to reduce the debt over the next 10 years.

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  S&P Warns of Euro Zone Downgrades if Recession Recurs

  By Marlene Y. Satter, AdvisorOne  |  November 23, 2011

  David Beers, who presided over the downgrade of the U.S. credit rating after the great debt debacle in Congress, said Wednesday that ratings in the euro zone are in danger of cuts should large parts of the region sink back into recession.

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  EU Plans to Shake Up Ratings Agencies

  By Marlene Y. Satter, AdvisorOne  |  November 16, 2011

  A new draft law unveiled Tuesday by the European Union angered ratings agencies Moody's, Standard & Poor's and Fitch, although according to Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier it is designed to inject competition into the sector, currently dominated by the 'big three.'

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  The Perils of Exchange Traded Funds

  By Vaughan Scully, Standard & Poor's  |  October 9, 2011

  Despite their retail-friendly image today, ETFs were originally designed as a product for professional fund managers and institutional investors, and their involvement is still high.

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  SEC May Seek Legal Action Against S&P

  By John Sullivan, AdvisorOne  |  September 26, 2011

  An issue over the rating of a collateralized debt obligation from 2007 prompted the SEC Thursday to send a so-called “Wells notice” to McGraw-Hill, the parent company of Standard and Poor’s.