Rating the Raters: Enron and the Credit Rating Agencies : Hearing Before ... 107th Congress, 2nd Session, March 20, 2002 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
accounting analysts arguing assessment assets bankruptcy banks BARONE billion bonds capital adequacy capital markets Chairman LIEBERMAN Chewco Commission Committee company's corporate costs counterparty credit quality credit rating agencies Credit Sights credit spreads CreditWatch creditworthiness criteria deal default DIAZ disclosed disclosure Dynegy economic efficiency Enron Corporation Enron's credit Enron's financial Enron's rating entities equity fact firms Fitch Fitch Ratings global going guarantee investment grade investment grade rating investment-grade issuers issues look marketplace merger agreement Moody's Investors Service negative November NRSRO designation off-balance sheet opinion partnerships PELLECCHIA Poor's rating Powers Report question rating process rating triggers regulation Regulation FD regulatory reliable rely reputation requirements risk role rules Schwarcz securities laws securitization Senator BUNNING Senator LEVIN Senator THOMPSON Standard & Poor's statement structured finance supra note XX testimony Thank transaction U.S. securities unsolicited rating
Popular passages
Page 122 - secured). Interest payments and principal security appear adequate for the present but certain protective elements may be lacking or may be characteristically unreliable over any great length of time. Such bonds lack outstanding investment characteristics and in fact have speculative characteristics as well.
Page 194 - The court's rationale depended on the protection afforded to public opinions by the First Amendment's mandate that Congress shall make no law abridging freedom of speech or of the press
Page 71 - As the Powers Report observes, Enron's financial statements did mention the existence of some of these partnerships. "However, these disclosures were obtuse, did not communicate the essence of the transactions completely or clearly, and failed to convey the substance of what was going on between Enron and the partnerships.
Page 186 - all investors ... should have access to certain basic facts about an investment prior to buying it. To achieve this, the SEC requires public companies to disclose meaningful financial and other information to the public, which provides a common pool of knowledge for all investors to use to judge for themselves if a company's securities are a good investment.")
Page 40 - regulations under the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Investment Company Act of 1940. Congress
Page 82 - regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. Ratings from 'AA' to 'CCC may be modified by the addition of a phis (+) or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories. The
Page 76 - were used by Enron Management to enter into transactions that it could not, or would not, do with unrelated commercial entities. Many of the most significant transactions apparently were designed to accomplish favorable
Page 82 - or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories. The rating process in brief A Standard & Poor's rating is
Page 180 - of bank supervisory authorities and central banks of Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the
Page 182 - was originally used by various regulatory bodies [in the United States] to connote obligations eligible for investment by institutions such as banks, insurance companies and savings and loan associations. Over time, this term gained widespread acceptance