They invest in the Philippines, and if they're giving us more credit to the
credit-rating agencies do, then that's the best of all worlds, I think,' Beltran said.
"
Credit-rating agencies historically lag the real economic fundamentals, whereas markets are ahead," Brett Wander, the chief investment officer for fixed income in San Francisco at Charles Schwab Investment Management, told Bloomberg.
TOKYO - The government endorsed a bill Friday to regulate
credit-rating agencies in response to criticism that their lax rating activities are partly responsible for the current financial crisis.
aThe US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs is considering the possibility of legislating on
credit-rating agencies. The investigation, which will directly impact on the three major international agencies, Standard & Poor's, Moody's and Fitch, will focus on competition, registration, conflict of interests and issues of transparency.
Two other
credit-rating agencies -- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services and Moody's Investors Service -- have already lowered Ford's ratings to junk status.
And there are concerns on the credit side: Critics suggest that
credit-rating agencies would lower the state's bond rating if the state proceeds with the proposal (agencies don't like it when states sell off one-time assets to solve continuing budget problems).
The Finance Ministry said Thursday it has again sent letters to two foreign
credit-rating agencies, saying their explanations on the default risk of Japan's government bonds are insufficient.
While acknowledging that standard setters such as IFAC have no authority to mandate compliance, Ball is optimistic that other factors, such as the influence of investors, lenders,
credit-rating agencies and voters, will encourage governments to cooperate.
"A REIT that hits the target is on the radar screens of more analysts; has more liquidity, which means it will attract more large institutional investors to buy its stock; and can get noticed by the
credit-rating agencies and likely attain an investment-grade rating, which means its cost of capital is lower," explains Korpacz.
The Ministry of Finance (MOF) said Tuesday it has sent letters to three foreign
credit-rating agencies questioning the credibility of their assessments of Japanese government bonds and asking for further explanations on rating decisions.
The letter was in response to one sent late April by the ministry to three Western
credit-rating agencies, including Moody's, which questioned the credibility of their rating decisions and asked for further explanations.
Japan has been frustrated by the downgrade of its sovereign bonds by large
credit-rating agencies, including Standard & Poor's Corp.
