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Guest Pissed Off

Definitely. The Department of Treasury found $2 trillion error in S&P's math. The Department of Justice should do an investigation on these traitors. Everyone knows they are full of crap. They got caught giving phony ratings during the mortgage crash. S&P is our worst enemy. The United States is being destroyed within.

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Guest Fedup

Standard and Poor's

 

Standard & Poor's (S&P) is a United States–based financial-services company. It is a division of the McGraw-Hill Companies that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks and bonds. It is well known for its stock market indices, the US-based S&P 500, the Australian S&P/ASX 200, the Canadian S&P/TSX, the Italian S&P/MIB and India's S&P CNX Nifty.

 

Credit rating agencies such as Standard & Poor's have been subject to criticism in the wake of large losses beginning in 2007 in the collateralized debt obligation (CDO) market that occurred despite being assigned top ratings by the CRAs.

 

Credit ratings of AAA (the highest rating available) were given to large portions of even the riskiest pools of loans. Investors, trusting the low-risk profile that AAA implies, purchased large amounts of CDOs that later became unsellable. Those that could be sold often took staggering losses. For instance, losses on $340.7 million worth of CDOs issued by Credit Suisse Group added up to about $125 million, despite being rated AAA by Standard & Poor's.

 

Some critics have pointed out that the company and other rating agencies were part of the cause of the global financial crisis of 2008–2009, for example rating Enron higher than it should have been (or when Moody's downgraded Freddie Mac).

 

With the US downgrade some have accused the S&P of causing further damage for their own agenda. Standard & Poor's acknowledged making a USD$2 trillion error in its justification for downgrading the U.S. credit rating, but stated that it "had no impact on the rating decision". "A judgment flawed by a $2 trillion error speaks for itself," said a spokesman for the United States Department of the Treasury.

 

Another issue that has concerned commentators is that a Standard & Poor's rating - for example, of the US government or any other world government - can have, and has had, a distinct effect on a truly global scale. But the decision on these ratings are made by employees of Standard & Poor's who are not elected by the public, and are not accountable for their decision making process. There is no appeals process against a credit rating decision.

 

Another issue that has concerned commentators is that a Standard & Poor's rating - for example, of the US government or any other world government - can have, and has had, a distinct effect on a truly global scale. But the decision on these ratings are made by employees of Standard & Poor's who are not elected by the public, and are not accountable for their decision making process. There is no appeals process against a credit rating decision.

 

S&P has run the CUSIP Service Bureau, the only ISIN issuer in the United States, on behalf of the American Bankers Association. In its formal statement of objections, the European Commission alleges "that S&P is abusing this monopoly position by enforcing the payment of licence fees for the use of US ISINs by ( a ) banks and other financial services providers in the EEA and ( b ) information service providers in the EEA." It claims that comparable agencies elsewhere in the world either do not charge fees at all, or do so on the basis of distribution cost, rather than usage.

 

Here is a list of S&P key members:

Ray J. Groves

 

Boston Scientific Corp. - director

Colorado Physicians Insurance Company - director

Council on Foreign Relations - member

Standard & Poor's - ombudsman

 

Past Affiliations:

 

Electronic Data Systems - director

Ernst & Young LLP - chairman & CEO

Marsh, Inc. - chairman & president

Metropolitan Opera - managing director

Overstock.com Inc. - director

 

================================

 

Devan Sharma

 

Standard & Poor's - president

House hearing on credit rating agencies (10/22/08)

 

 

================================

 

Frank L. Raiter

 

Standard & Poor's - managing director

 

 

================================

 

Floyd Abrams

 

Cahill Gordon & Reindel - attorney

Century Association - member

Standard & Poor's - attorney

 

Floyd Abrams past affiliations:

New York Times - attorney

 

================================

 

McGraw-Hill Companies

 

The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., (NYSE: MHP) is a publicly traded corporation headquartered in Rockefeller Center in New York City. Its primary areas of business are education, publishing, broadcasting, and financial and business services. It is the parent company of Standard & Poor's, Platts, and J.D. Power and Associates.

 

 

John D. Negroponte

Americas Society - chairman

Asia Society - trustee

Council of the Americas - chairman

 

John D. Negroponte past affiliations:

 

Council on Foreign Relations - member

George W. Bush administration - national intelligence director

Iraq - U.S. ambassador

McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. - EVP

Mexico - U.S. ambassador

Office of the Director of National Intelligence - director

Philippines - U.S. ambassador

Phillips Exeter Academy - graduate

U.S. Department of State - deputy secretary

 

The brief entry in the Federal Register, dated May 5, 2006, was opaque to the untrained eye. But the bureaucratic verbiage added up to this: President George W. Bush has bestowed on his intelligence czar, John D. Negroponte, broad authority, in the name of national security, to excuse publicly traded companies from certain accounting and securities-disclosure obligations.

 

http://www.businessw...23/b3987040.htm

 

================================

 

Harold W. McGraw III

 

Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations - member

Asia Society - trustee

Carnegie Hall - trustee

ConocoPhillips - director

Foreign Policy Association - director

McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. - chairman & president & CEO

National Academy Foundation - director

National Actors Theatre - chairman

New York Public Library - trustee

Partnership for New York City - director

United States Council for International Business - trustee

United Technologies Corporation - director

U.S.-China Business Council - director

U.S.-India Business Council - chairman

 

Harold W. McGraw III past affiliations:

 

United States Council for International Business - chairman

 

In July 2009, McGraw-Hill hired the Podesta Group and its owner, Tony Podesta, one of Washington’s most influential lobbyists, to tackle“liability provisions in credit rating agency reform,” thegroup’s lobbying disclosure reports show. Tony’s brother, John Podesta, was President Clinton’s chief-of-staff and co-chairman of President Obama’s transition committee. S&P also has hired the lobbying firm Nappi and Hoppe, which represents an array of financial interests including the Chamber of Commerce.

 

http://fallofthehous...eat-Company.php

 

================================

 

Hilda Ochoa-Brillembourg

 

Atlantic Council of the United States - director

Emerging Markets Investment Corporation - director

Emerging Markets Management LLC - director

General Mills Inc. - director

Harvard Management Company - director

McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. - director

Strategic Investment Group - president & CEO

Youth Orchestra of the Americas - founding chair

 

Hilda Ochoa-Brillembourg past affiliations:

 

National Symphony Orchestra - director

Washington National Opera - trustee

World Bank - division CIO

 

================================

 

Edward B. Rust Jr.

 

American Enterprise Institute - trustee

America's Promise, The Alliance for Youth - director

Business Roundtable - vice chair

Caterpillar Inc. - director

Chicago Public Education Fund - director

Committee for Economic Development - trustee

Conference Board - trustee

Foreign Policy Association - director

Helmerich & Payne Inc. - director

McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. - director

State Farm Insurance Companies - chairman & CEO

 

Edward B. Rust Jr. campaign contributions:

 

Listed below are federal donations of $3,000+ reported to the FEC.

National Republican Congressional Committee - $5,000 on 2/25/2011

Fiorina Victory Committee - $5,000 on 10/26/2010

National Republican Congressional Committee - $5,000 on 6/30/2010

National Republican Senatorial Committee - $5,000 on 6/15/2010

Financial Services Roundtable PAC - $5,000 on 1/25/2010

 

================================

Winfried Bischoff

 

Eli Lilly and Company - director

Lloyds Banking Group - chairman

McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. - director

Prudential plc - director

 

Winfried Bischoff past affiliations:

 

Citigroup Inc. - chairman

Schroders plc - chairman

 

Lloyds Banking Group directors took advantage of the market correction by buying shares in the taxpayer-backed bank. Sir Win Bischoff, chairman of Lloyds, snapped up 200,000 shares at a price of 32.1p.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/marketreport/8684982/Lloyds-bosses-buy-shares-as-markets-slump.html

 

================================

 

Kurt L. Schmoke

 

Carnegie Corporation of New York - trustee

Foundation for the National Institutes of Health - director

Howard Hughes Medical Institute - trustee

Howard University School of Law - dean

Legg Mason Inc. - director

McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. - director

 

Kurt L. Schmoke past relationships:

 

Baltimore (MD) - mayor

Oxford University - Rhodes scholar

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr - partner

Wolf's Head Society - member

 

================================

Sidney Taurel

Columbia Business School - overseer

IBM - director

McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. - director

RCA Tennis Championships - director

 

Sidney Taurel past affilitations:

Eli Lilly and Company - chairman & CEO

 

================================

 

Michael Rake

 

BT Group plc - chairman

McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. - director

 

Michael Rake past affilitations:

KPMG International - chairman

 

 

================================

 

Vasant M. Prabhu

 

Mattel Inc. - director

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. - vice chairman & CFO

 

Vasant M. Prabhu past affiliations:

 

Knight Ridder Inc. - director

McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. - group president

Safeway Inc. - EVP & CFO

 

 

================================

 

Kate Childress

 

JPMorgan Chase & Co. - lobbyist

 

Kate Childress past affiliations:

 

McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. - lobbyist

Charles E. Schumer - adviser

 

 

I will keep looking around.

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Guest Derek

I tell you what it means Republicans are going to filibuster the bill. Senator McConnell is on record as saying that the debt ceiling MUST be raised by August 2. Now he is trying to maneuver away from a majority up-or-down vote like the House just did to 60 votes to pass the bill. Shame on all of you Republicans, putting the country at long term risk.

 

All of this because the Tea Party were only thinking about the upcoming elections. They will never accept responsibility for the harm they've done to our country. Every time I see Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann I expect to see them raise their arm straight out and exclaim "Heil Hitler".

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Guest Randy Hall

Definitely. The Department of Treasury found $2 trillion error in S&P's math. The Department of Justice should do an investigation on these traitors. Everyone knows they are full of crap. They got caught giving phony ratings during the mortgage crash. S&P is our worst enemy. The United States is being destroyed within.

 

It appears that the ratings agencies just follow the market, therefore would it be better to follow the market, rather than the ratings agencies? Good spot on Sir Winfried Bischoff's recent market activities.

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Guest James

S&P pointed the finger straight at the blackmailing tactics of the Republicans and the tea party threatening default by not passing the debt ceiling increase.

 

"The political brinksmanship of recent months highlights what we see as America's governance and policy making becoming less stable, less effective, and less predictable than what we previously believed. The statutory debt ceiling and the threat of default have become political bargaining chips in the debate over fiscal policy." from Standard & Poor's

 

The Republicans threatening to not pass the debt ceiling destabilized confidence in the markets and the credit rating agencies.

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Guest Fedup

Here are the two S&P analysts who downgraded the United States. Hoping reporters contact them

 

http://www.cfavancouver.com/Lists/Events%20Calendar/DispForm.aspx?ID=153&?zh

 

ABSTRACT

Two senior members of the global sovereign ratings practice of Standard & Poor’s will provide an overview of factors and forces shaping sovereign credit quality worldwide. Prepared remarks will address a range of topics relating to sovereign credit trends, including:

 

Europe: Prospects for stabilization

 

US: How important is the role of the US$?

 

Canada: Can it remain above the fray?

 

East Asia: Lessons for other regions

 

 

This will be an interactive session providing participants with opportunities for questions and discussion relating to the 126 sovereign governments currently rated worldwide by Standard & Poor’s.

 

 

BIO

John Chambers is a managing director at Standard & Poor’s, Credit Market Services division. Since 1997, he has been the deputy head of Standard & Poor’s Sovereign Ratings Group. In 2005, he was named chairman of the group’s sovereign rating committee. This committee, which consists of senior sovereign analysts, sets and changes ratings for the 125 central governments rated by Standard & Poor’s as well as for a score of multilateral and sub regional development banks. John also led Standard & Poor’s efforts in expanding its rating among Latin American financial institutions. He is a chartered financial analyst. He has his Masters of Arts from Columbia University and his Bachelor of Arts from Grinnell College.

 

Nikola Swann is a Director, having joined the Toronto office in 2002. Nikola is primary analyst for the United States of America, Canada and Bermuda, as well as several public sector entities, including the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Finance Corporation, and la Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.

 

Prior to joining Standard & Poor’s, Nikola worked as an Economist in the Canadian Federal Government’s Department of Finance. Previously, he worked in the Monetary and Financial Analysis Department of the Bank of Canada.

 

 

 

The Metropolitan Hotel

645 Howe Street

Vancouver, BC

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Douglas N. Daft has a quite an impressive resume.

 

Born: 1943

Birthplace: Cessnock, New South Wales, Australia

 

McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. - Director

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. - Director

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. - Director

European Advisory Council for N.M. Rothschild & Sons Limited - Member

Grocery Manufacturers Association - Director

Emory University - Trustee

Thunderbird School of Global Management - Member of the Board of Governors

Churchill College - Advisory Board Member

The Garvin School of International Management in Arizona - Advisory Board Member

Oxford University Business School - Visiting Fellow

Center for Strategic and International Studies, Inc. - Director

American Assembly, The - Trustee

Cambridge Foundation - Trustee

Longreach, Inc. - Advisory Board Member

Tisbury Capital - Advisory Board Member

Tisbury Fund Limited - Director

Thomas H. Lee Partners - Advisory Board Member

Churchill Archives Center - Advisory Board Member

American Australian Association - Patron

Boys & Girls Clubs of America - Director

 

Douglas N. Daft past affiliations:

 

Coca-Cola Company - chairman & CEO

SunTrust Banks, Inc. - Director

Joint Stock Company HALS-Development - Director

Sistema-Hals - Director

 

Bush-Cheney '04 - Committee Member

Trilateral Commission - Member

The Group of 100 (G100) - Member

The Business Council - Member

Catalyst - Member

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Guest I Eat Elephant

John chambers is a RNC heavyweight.

 

http://littlesis.org/person/2167/John_T_Chambers/recipients

 

RNC Republican National State Elections Committee Campaign Contribution ⋅ $266791 ⋅ 6 filings ('98→'01)

Nrccc - Non Federal 1 Campaign Contribution ⋅ $120000 ⋅ 3 filings ('98→'00)

National Republican Senatorial Committee Campaign Contribution ⋅ $111500 ⋅ 6 filings ('98→'07)

NRSC - Nonfederal Campaign Contribution ⋅ $100000 ⋅ 4 filings ('98→'02)

2000 Rep H/S Dinner Non Fed Individual Campaign Contribution ⋅ $100000 ⋅ 1 filing ('00)

Nrccc - Non Federal 2 Campaign Contribution ⋅ $90000 ⋅ 4 filings ('01→'02)

Republican National Committee Campaign Contribution ⋅ $68500 ⋅ 3 filings ('06→'08)

Dscc/Non-Fed Unincorp Assoc Campaign Contribution ⋅ $55000 ⋅ 3 filings ('99→'01)

John McCain Campaign Contribution ⋅ $45400 ⋅ 8 filings ('07→'08)

Cisco Systems Inc Federal PAC Aka Cisco Systems E-PAC Campaign Contribution ⋅ $33000 ⋅ 7 filings ('02→'08)

Democratic National Committee Campaign Contribution ⋅ $20000 ⋅ 1 filing ('97)

California Republican Party/V8 Campaign Contribution ⋅ $15845 ⋅ 4 filings ('99→'09)

DNC-Non-Federal Individual Campaign Contribution ⋅ $15000 ⋅ 1 filing ('97)

Dianne Feinstein Campaign Contribution ⋅ $14000 ⋅ 8 filings ('99→'04)

Technology Network (Technet) Federal PAC Campaign Contribution ⋅ $12500 ⋅ 4 filings ('97→'06)

Dccce Non-Federal Account 5 Campaign Contribution ⋅ $12500 ⋅ 1 filing ('99)

Main Street Individual Fund Campaign Contribution ⋅ $10000 ⋅ 1 filing ('03)

New Republican Majority Fund Campaign Contribution ⋅ $10000 ⋅ 2 filings ('97)

National Republican Congressional Committee Campaign Contribution ⋅ $10000 ⋅ 1 filing ('06)

Joe Lieberman Campaign Contribution ⋅ $10000 ⋅ 7 filings ('99→'06)

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Guest Ron Paul 2012

I wonder if that is why Boehner, McCain, Thompson, and McConnell were pushing the Tea Party to compromise. Their bosses were telling them to accept what they got and sign the papers. I am beginning to wonder who is good anymore. Wall Street better get used to it. The Tea Party is going to turn this country around.

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Guest Quincy ishielf

S&P’s parent, McGraw-Hill (MHP), paid Podesta Group $240,000 this year to lobby congress on financial regulation. Business Week reported that the House panel passed a measure to repeal a part of Dodd-Frank bill last month that would make raters liable if they award a high grade to securities that turn out to be risky. Lobbyists are monitoring the process and at times, offering their own suggestions for rewrites. SEC and ordered federal agencies to rewrite their rules to minimize the government's use of ratings. The SEC, Treasury, Internal Revenue, Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation have all begun to move away from using S&P. In two quarterly Senate filings this year, S&P's lobbyists, Nappi & Hoppe LLC, reported its government contacts over the Dodd-Frank bill and listing meetings with unnamed Senate and House members and SEC officials. The SEC is weighing on a new rule that will force S&P to post on its website every time a "significant error" is identified in their methodology for a credit rating action. This was in response to U.S. Treasury Department spotted S&P of miscalculation $2 trillion U.S. debt in the next 10 years. Deven Sharma, the president of S.& P., stated that while it believed the company should disclose "significant errors" that affect ratings, the S.E.C. should avoid rules that would define what types of errors were significant enough to require disclosure.

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USA will not get better until the rotting part of its foundation is removed. S and P are nothing but snake oil salesman. I don't believe them, but I still do believe the Tea Party is right.

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Guest RTR.org

Immediately following the announcement of the S&P downgrade, defiant Chicagoans took the the streets and demanded the arrest of the Bankers and an the end of the Federal Reserve system. This was never covered on any news outlet.

 

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I wonder if that is why Boehner, McCain, Thompson, and McConnell were pushing the Tea Party to compromise. Their bosses were telling them to accept what they got and sign the papers. I am beginning to wonder who is good anymore. Wall Street better get used to it. The Tea Party is going to turn this country around.

 

I guarantee you that all sides are to blame for what has happened. People do not trust any of our leaders. The key is to move forward and start fixing the problems and better regulate the markets and banks. We can no longer allow interests groups to interfere in the legislative process. The revolving door policy has to stop.

 

Congress and the President should skip their vacations and come back to Washington. Our nation needs its leaders to govern and calm the fears of Americans and foreign investors that everything will be ok.

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More shovel ready programs "Great Idea". Tax the sin of anyone making over 250k "Another great Idea".

 

Now out of all of your GREAT IDEAS? just one question.

 

Is this Administration basing it's evaluation of what small business is based on the EUROPEAN Definition of what Small Business IS?

 

Or is it basing it on the American Definition?

 

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

America should get upgrade on its infrastracture before it gets too late.

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Human is right.

 

The last stimulus program gave a good chunk of money to our foreign competitors.

 

Cash for clunkers was the best example. People could by a Toyota and get money back.

 

Many infrastructure construction projects used foreign workers and foreign materials.

 

How did that help unemployed Americans???

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Guest White Hair

I think many companies in the U.S. would like to keep the jobs in the U.S. if they could, but they also need to keep their shareholders happy. Our current tax law all but forces companies to keep their money out of the country, indefinitely. Congress and the president one-time amnesty tax break to allow companies to bring their money back home at 10% instead of the current 35%. This will immediately stimulate jobs, bring in revenues, and not cost the taxpayer a dime.

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Democrat Plan vs. Republican Plan.

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/175779-gop-jobs-plan-targets-federal-regulations

 

GOP jobs plan targets federal regulations

By Erik Wasson - 08/06/11 11:50 PM ET

 

After focusing for months on the deficit, Republicans are preparing a ‘jobs’ pivot of their own in September by moving to roll back and limit new federal regulations.

Congressional Republicans and aides confirmed that regulations are going to be at the top of the GOP agenda next month as the party looks to counter the White House’s drive for jobs legislation addressing taxes and infrastructure.

 

When the Department of Labor announced Friday that only 117,000 jobs were created in July, GOP leaders quickly cited burdensome regulations as a main culprit.

 

“We've got to take a real look at what we can do in Washington, number one, to remove the regulatory burdens that are in the way of entrepreneurs and investors, so that jobs can be created again. And we have to look at policies that affect small business people and the middle class,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) told CNBC.

 

The GOP will make a major push this fall for the REINS Act, which would require all major regulations to get a vote in Congress. Also on the short list is a bill sponsored by Rep. John Sullivan (R-Okla.) and reported out of the Energy and Commerce Committee in July that requires more extensive cost-benefit analysis on regulations. Finally, there are dozens of policy riders in the appropriations bills that will target burdensome regulations.

“We are going to use every tool in our arsenal,” Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) told The Hill.

 

Democrat aides are worried that the push on the appropriations policy riders, especially in the bill funding the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), could lead to a government shutdown crisis at the end of September. That bill is listed by Cantor’s office as a tool for regulatory reform.

 

Policy riders will play a larger role in September’s 2012 spending fight compared to the April battle over 2011 funding. The top-line spending number for 2012 was set in the debt-ceiling deal at $1.043 trillion. Senate Democrats, however, are sure to reject most of the restrictions in the appropriations bills that have already passed the House.

“We really don’t know how it’s going to play out with those riders,” one Democrat appropriations aide warned.

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