Obama brought this on our country all by himself with his spending, spending, spending, and he keeps looking for someone else to blame for the results. Standard and Poors had been warming us for some time this could and would happen if we didn't get our fiscal house in order, but Obama thought they were talking about someone else I guess. Now he wants to take revenge for the results of "his actions".

Friday, 12 Aug 2011 07:16 AM

By Forrest Jones

The Securities and Exchange Commission has asked Standard and Poor’s to hand over a list of people who knew the agency was going to downgrade U.S. ratings before it was announced to see if possible insider trading took place.

Sources familiar with the issue tell the Financial Times that the SEC’s enforcement division isn't after the S&P nor do they have evidence of specific trading activity that would suggest a leak.

An examination department, which oversees ratings agencies, asked for names.

Should a formal investigation evolve, a bigger issue could arise – Standard and Poor’s license.

The Credit Rating Agency Reform Act of 2006 states that an agency could have its license revoked if it leaks information prior to disclosing a move on a rating public, MarketWatch reports.

The ratings agency must also have policies and procedures to prevent such a disclosure.

“If it is true that they told hedge funds and briefed banks and told a few people ahead of everyone else that would appear to be a clear violation 2006 Act,” says Consumer Federation of America director Barbara Roper, according to MarketWatch.

“Credit rating agencies have to have polices to prevent the dissemination of pending rating action on the Internet.”

Increasing the probe from an inquiry level to an enforcement one may be tough.

“Proving someone leaked information about the downgrade, or traded ahead of it, could be challenging. Many traders anticipated the downgrade and bets could occur across numerous securities or currencies without inside information,” the Times reports.


Read more: FT: SEC Investigating S&P's Downgrade of US Debt
Important: Can you afford to Retire? Shocking Poll Results