Ratings agencies running the show in Europe and US
July 20, 2011 6 Comments
This post appeared in The Guardian Business Blog on July 20th 2011 and has been reposted here with permission.
The three main credit ratings agencies—Moody’s, Fitch and Standard & Poor’s—are heavily influencing fiscal policy in the eurozone and the United States. Objectively, this is madness. That is what finance ministries and departments are for. Still, the credit ratings agencies are not to be blamed for the debt crises in the euro area or the US.
Megan Greene is the Chief Economist at Maverick Intelligence, with a particular focus on Europe. She is also a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, a columnist with Bloomberg and a senior research fellow at Trinity College Dublin. The opinions expressed here are her own and do not reflect those of any employers. Ms Greene offers a strictly independent voice without a political or investment agenda.
