rating agencies

Moody's Tries to Make Up for Past Mistakes?

Wow, where was this analysis several years ago.

Banks have failed to make adequate provision for the losses on loans and securities they face before the end of next year, Moody’s Investors Service said.

U.S. banks may incur about $470 billion of losses and writedowns by the end of 2010, which may cause the banks to be unprofitable in the period, the ratings company said in a report published today.

“Large loan losses have yet to be recognized in the banking system,” Moody’s said. “We expect to see rising provisioning needs well into 2010.”

So, if true, who is the zombie bank? Check this amazing quote from the Bloomberg Article:

McGraw-Hill axes Ritholtz book critical of Standard & Poors subsidiary

I won't give you the details here, because you can go to Ritholtz's blog and read all about them. McGraw-Hill has decided not to publish Ritholtz's book, Bailout Nation, because Ritholtz refused to tone down his strong criticism of the credit rating agencies, including Standard & Poors, which is wholly owned by McGraw-Hill.

Not only that, but McGraw-Hill asked Ritholtz not to alert the news media to the decision, then turned around and told some journalists that McGraw-Hill editors had decided not to publish the book because they did not like his style, and could not corroborate his footnotes.

Yeah, really. It's in a statement from a McGraw-Hill spokesthing.