Market Currents

• Wednesday, December 23, 2009

• 08:38 AM Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A), Moody's (MCO) biggest investor, cuts its stake for a sixth time since July, to 34%, as the rating agency continues to struggle with profit declines, lawsuits and criticism from regulators. Comment!

• Tuesday, December 8, 2009

• 11:05 AM "Strikingly weak," "mortifying," and "old and ineffective medicine" - critics comment on regulatory reform aimed at the three big ratings firms (S&P (MHP), Moody's (MCO), and Fitch). "The Big Three object that the legislation proposed by Congress could make them more vulnerable to legal action. But they otherwise do not sound particularly exercised about much else that is likely to become law." (via) 3 Comments

• Thursday, October 29, 2009

• 07:13 AM Moody's (MCO): Q3 EPS of $0.43 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $452M (+4.2%) vs. $417M. Declares quarterly dividend of $0.10. (PR I, II) Comment!
• 00:05 AM Notable pre-market earnings: ABX, AEP, AET, AGN, AN, APA, AVP, AYE, AZN, BC, BCRX, BKC, BPO, CL, CLI, CME, CMS, COCO, COT, DLR, EK, EXPE, FNFG, GTI, K, KBR, MCO, MOT, MPS, MWW, MYL, NBL, NEM, NRG, ODP, OMX, PCG, PDE, PG, PPL, PTEN, RDS.A, S, SII, TSM, VTR, WMB, XEL, XOM Comment!

• Wednesday, September 23, 2009

• 13:22 PM In what may be a significant first sign of changes to the ratings industry, state insurance regulators approve Realpoint to join Moody's (MCO) and S&P (MHP) in evaluating mortgage-backed securities. Realpoint provides analysis to subscribing bond buyers, while the other agencies are paid by issuers. And Reuters reported that regulators may yet ditch Moody's. Comment!
• 08:15 AM Despite months of scrutiny and some internal changes, a recently departed Moody's (MCO) analyst says ratings firms continue to issue inflated ratings. The whistleblower - Eric Kolchinsky - cites one case in which Moody's gave a complicated debt security a high rating in early 2009, even though it was planning to (and subsequently did) downgrade the underlying assets. 5 Comments

• Monday, September 21, 2009

• 14:38 PM Moody's (MCO) reverses course and will now attend a meeting of state insurance regulators, after New York's regulator said the firm's grading authorization should be scaled back if it skipped. (previously) Comment!

• Friday, September 18, 2009

• 12:58 PM Moody's (MCO) tamps down expectations for a rapid housing recovery, saying it could take 10 years to recover from a 40% peak-to-trough decline in home prices - and states like Florida and California "will only regain their pre-bust peak in the early 2030s, well after the nation does." 4 Comments

• Thursday, September 17, 2009

• 07:39 AM Regulators of some of the largest bond buyers in the world are reassessing their reliance on firms like Moody's (MCO) and S&P (MHP), wary of the ratings agencies after the poor job they did with complex mortgage securities. 2 Comments

• Wednesday, September 16, 2009

• 07:42 AM Moody's (MCO), S&P (MHP) and Fitch may have to increase their accountability, while companies may have to disclose the grades received on bonds while shopping among ratings agencies. This, and more, reportedly on the agenda for an SEC meeting tomorrow. Comment!

• Tuesday, September 8, 2009

• 14:44 PM Greenlight's David Einhorn adds to his bet against the ratings agencies, saying he's now shorting S&P parent McGraw-Hill (MHP -7.7%) as well as Moody's (MCO -3.7%). The unfavorable court ruling they face will be more than just a costly legal bump, he suggests. 1 Comment
• 09:00 AM Premarket gainers: CBY +42%. ORH +25%. HMY +9%. NG +8%. STM +7%. GFI +7%. LTXC +7%. SLT +6%. AUO +6%. NXG +6%. HL +6%. VICL +6%. LYG +6%. CCL +6%. STP +6%. ALV +6%. EGO +6%. NGD +5%. LVS +5%. PAL +5%. PHG +5%. AUG +5%. NOK +5%. MT +5%. MPEL +5%. BHP +5%. GE +5%. ING +4%. GBG +4%. YGE +4%. MU +4%. RMBS +4%. GSS +4%. FNM +4%. ALU +4%. JASO +4%. FCX +4%. NVAX +4%.
  Losers: OSIR -40%. KFT -5%. MCO -5%. AIG -4%. Comment!

• Friday, September 4, 2009

• 10:02 AM Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) cuts its holdings of Moody's (MCO -1.5%) by 2%, the second reduction in as many months. But with 39.2M shares remaining, Berkshire is still Moody's largest shareholder. 1 Comment

• Thursday, September 3, 2009

• 07:30 AM A judge refuses to dismiss a class-action lawsuit brought against Moody's (MCO), S&P (MHP) and Morgan Stanley (MS). The two ratings agencies had tried to argue investors couldn't sue over deceptive ratings because those opinions are protected by free-speech rights. 1 Comment

• Wednesday, July 29, 2009

• 07:11 AM Moody's (MCO): Q2 EPS of $0.43 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $451M (-7.6%) vs. $427M. (PR) Comment!
• 00:05 AM Notable earnings before Wednesday's open: AMT, ARW, BPO, BWA, CCE, COP, EQT, GD, HES, HL, HSP, IACI, JNY, MCO, MDCO, MHS, MT, MWV, NYB, PAG, PX, Q, RCL, S, SAP, SEE, SLAB, SMG, SO, SPIL, TEL, TLM, TWC, TWX, UMC, VPHM, WLP, WPI, WYN Comment!