Infinite Unknown

- Russia Seeks to Loosen Rating Companies’ Grip (Bloomberg, July 13, 2011):

Russia and members of the Eurasian Economic Community, a grouping of former Soviet republics, are seeking to loosen the dominance of U.S. credit-rating companies and may set up an independent rival next year.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has said he’s an “ardent supporter” of the plan because Russia’s debt grade is an “outrage” that lifts corporate borrowing costs and increases risks. The nation’s sovereign credit rating was last raised by New York-based Moody’s Investors Service in 2008 to Baa1, the third-lowest investment grade, one step above Brazil and four below China.

“It’s madness to trust American rating agencies,” Sergei Glazyev, the group’s deputy general secretary, said in an interview in Moscow yesterday. “The market is objectively interested in new reference points.”

Russia is championing a new ratings company after Poland said last week it may use its six-month term holding the rotating presidency of the European Union to campaign for an independent European credit evaluator. Dagong Global Credit Rating Co., the first domestic rating company set up in China, began issuing sovereign ratings a year ago.

Russia is rated A by Dagong, one level below the U.S. Moody’s ranks Russia seven steps lower and Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings eight levels below the United States’ AAA grade, their highest.

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Tags: China, Dagong Global Credit Rating Co, Debt, Economy, Fitch, Global News, Government, Moody's, Politics, Rating, Russia, Standard & Poor's, Vladimir Putin

Nov. 09 (Bloomberg) — China’s Dagong Global Credit Rating Co. reduced its credit rating for the U.S. to A+ from AA, citing a deteriorating intent and ability to repay debt obligations after the Federal Reserve announced more monetary easing.

The credit outlook for the U.S. is “negative,” as the Fed’s plan to buy government debt will erode the value of the dollar and “entirely encroaches” on the interests of creditors, analysts at Dagong, one of China’s five official ratings companies, said in a statement. The U.S. is rated Aaa and AAA by Moody’s Investors Service and Standard Poor’s Corp., the highest credit ratings of the New York-based companies.

The downgrade came before a meeting of Group of 20 leaders this week in Seoul and as the U.S. steps up pressure for China to let the yuan strengthen to help reduce the U.S. trade deficit. China countered the criticism by saying U.S. economic policies threaten the stability of developing nations.

“The general market perception is that there’s a risk that the Chinese rating agency is playing a bit more political game than providing independent analysis,” said Ian Lyngen, a government bond strategist in Stamford, Connecticut, at CRT Capital Group LLC, in a telephone interview. “I don’t think it has the same ramification as a downgrade by mainstream rating agencies such as S&P and Moody’s. That said, the reasons that the credit rating of the U.S. may come under pressure are obvious to most people.”

‘Serious Defects’

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Tags: Bonds, China, Dagong Global Credit Rating Co, Debt, Economy, Global News, Government, Politics, U.S.

China’s leading credit rating agency has stripped America, Britain, Germany and France of their AAA ratings, accusing Anglo-Saxon competitors of ideological bias in favour of the West.

Beijing office buildings – Chinese rating agency strips Western nations of AAA status (AFP)

Dagong Global Credit Rating Co used its first foray into sovereign debt to paint a revolutionary picture of creditworthiness around the world, giving much greater weight to “wealth creating capacity” and foreign reserves than Fitch, Standard & Poor’s, or Moody’s.

The US falls to AA, while Britain and France slither down to AA-. Belgium, Spain, Italy are ranked at A- along with Malaysia.

Meanwhile, China rises to AA+ with Germany, the Netherlands and Canada, reflecting its €2.4 trillion (£2 trillion) reserves and a blistering growth rate of 8pc to 10pc a year.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, chief of the International Monetary Fund, agreed on Monday that the rising East is a transforming global force. “Asia’s time has come,” he said.

The IMF expects Asia to grow by 7.7pc in 2010, vastly outpacing the eurozone at 1pc and the US at 3.3pc. Emerging nations hold 75pc of the world’s $8.4 trillion (£5.6 trillion) of reserves. Continue reading »

Tags: Belgium, China, Dagong Global Credit Rating Co, Debt, Economy, France, Germany, Italy, Rating, Spain, U.K., U.S.