Comments on: Municipal Bond Insurer Loses $2.3 Billion, Admits It’s In “the Doghouse” http://www.openmarket.org/2008/02/01/municipal-bond-insurer-loses-23-billion-admits-its-in-the-doghouse/ The Competitive Enterprise Institute Blog Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:48:03 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: OpenMarket.org » Archive » Bailout Threatens Economy, Shreds Constitution, Rips Off Taxpayers http://www.openmarket.org/2008/02/01/municipal-bond-insurer-loses-23-billion-admits-its-in-the-doghouse/#comment-78216 OpenMarket.org » Archive » Bailout Threatens Economy, Shreds Constitution, Rips Off Taxpayers Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:39:42 +0000 http://www.openmarket.org/2008/02/01/municipal-bond-insurer-loses-23-billion-admits-its-in-the-doghouse/#comment-78216 [...] Fed’s inflationary easy-money policy, and a government-enforced credit-ratings oligopoly, also contributed to the mortgage crisis, something long chronicled here [...] [...] Fed’s inflationary easy-money policy, and a government-enforced credit-ratings oligopoly, also contributed to the mortgage crisis, something long chronicled here [...]

]]> By: Death of Mortgage Bond Insurers May Be Greatly Exaggerated | OpenMarket.org http://www.openmarket.org/2008/02/01/municipal-bond-insurer-loses-23-billion-admits-its-in-the-doghouse/#comment-44199 Death of Mortgage Bond Insurers May Be Greatly Exaggerated | OpenMarket.org Tue, 05 Feb 2008 10:40:39 +0000 http://www.openmarket.org/2008/02/01/municipal-bond-insurer-loses-23-billion-admits-its-in-the-doghouse/#comment-44199 [...] Hans, you are certainly right that the credit rating agencies goofed in giving their highest credit rating to mortgage-backed securities before these new instruments met the test of the market. Now, there is a credit slowdown after the trading market for these securities has frozen up. There were more defaults on mortgages than anticipated, and many investors don’t trust the valuation methods the securities firms or the credit rating agencies used in the selling of these securities. [...] [...] Hans, you are certainly right that the credit rating agencies goofed in giving their highest credit rating to mortgage-backed securities before these new instruments met the test of the market. Now, there is a credit slowdown after the trading market for these securities has frozen up. There were more defaults on mortgages than anticipated, and many investors don’t trust the valuation methods the securities firms or the credit rating agencies used in the selling of these securities. [...]

]]> By: bonds7 http://www.openmarket.org/2008/02/01/municipal-bond-insurer-loses-23-billion-admits-its-in-the-doghouse/#comment-44085 bonds7 Sun, 03 Feb 2008 06:18:44 +0000 http://www.openmarket.org/2008/02/01/municipal-bond-insurer-loses-23-billion-admits-its-in-the-doghouse/#comment-44085 On January 18th 2008 Bill Ackman wrote a letter to Moody’s and the S&P regarding the monolines. Here is point #8 of Bill Ackman’s Letter to Rating Agencies Regarding Bond Insurers: I encourage you to ask yourself the following question while looking at your image in the mirror: Does a company deserve your highest Triple A rating whose stock price has declined 90%, has cut its dividend, is scrambling to raise capital, completed a partial financing at 14% interest (now trading at a 20% yield one week later), has incurred losses massively in excess of its promised zero-loss expectations wiping out more than half of book value, with Berkshire Hathaway as a new competitor, having lost access to its only liquidity facility, and having concealed material information from the marketplace? Can this possibly make sense? http://downgradetheinsurers.wordpress.com On January 18th 2008 Bill Ackman wrote a letter to Moody’s and the S&P regarding the monolines. Here is point #8 of Bill Ackman’s Letter to Rating Agencies Regarding Bond Insurers:

I encourage you to ask yourself the following question while looking at your image in the mirror:

Does a company deserve your highest Triple A rating whose stock price has declined 90%, has cut its dividend, is scrambling to raise capital, completed a partial financing at 14% interest (now trading at a 20% yield one week later), has incurred losses massively in excess of its promised zero-loss expectations wiping out more than half of book value, with Berkshire Hathaway as a new competitor, having lost access to its only liquidity facility, and having concealed material information from the marketplace?

Can this possibly make sense?

http://downgradetheinsurers.wordpress.com

]]>