The Last Word - Sen. Al Franken: 'Our financial system is kind of rigged'

[Galraedia]

[BillyRibs]

1. That's Like telling,

A man standing in front of a tsunami he going to get Kinda wet.

[snappyturtle]

2. Wish that made me feel better but it doesn't. Don't expect

anything to happen to regulate banking. imho

[TDale313]

3. Kind of rigged?

Major understatement. Great clip, glad Franken and others are fighting the good fight. Thanks for posting this.

[ProudProgressiveNow]

4. +1 nt

[jakeXT]

5. Do you really want a honest rating agency?

China is set to offer its alternative to the big three US credit rating agencies, Moody's, Fitch, and Standard and Poor's. The Universal Credit Rating group is due to launch next month in Hong Kong, and is a joint Chinese, Russian, and American venture.

The US ratings agency Egan-Jones Ratings Co and Russian RusRating will become partners with Dagong Global Credit Rating in the undertaking. The new agency will start with around 20 analysts aiming to gradually grow to more than 100.

UCRG will be the second such venture based in Hong Kong after China Chengxin, which established an office in Hong Kong in August last year.

The project is aimed at boosting China’s influence on the global ratings system, and challenging the prevalence of the big American firms. The impartiality of their work has been questioned since the global financial crisis in 2008.

http://rt.com/business/chinese-ratings-agency-alternative-us-004/

[90-percent]

6. Good Old Al

I've heard he only does local interviews. This may be a pretty rare thing that he's on a national show.

"It is Lawrence, isn't it?

Al's intelligence and 99.9th percentile sense of humor must be a good tool for his work and I hope he uses it to great advaantage when dealing with some of the dullards in the Senate!

I'd like to see Al making mince meat out of the likes of Cruz or Rubio or Mitch Mcconnel!

-90% Jimmy

[jakeXT]

7. Ratings Shopping Revived in Asset-Backed Rebound: Credit Markets

Ratings Shopping Revived in Asset-Backed Rebound: Credit Markets


Almost six years after the start of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, bond issuers are again exploiting credit ratings by seeking firms that will provide high grades on debt backed by assets from auto loans to office buildings considered inappropriate by rivals.

Fitch Ratings isn’t grading a deal linked to a Manhattan skyscraper after saying investors needed more protection. The securities won top grades from Moody’s Investors Service and Kroll Bond Rating Agency Inc. Blackstone Group LP’s Exeter Finance Corp. got top-tier ratings from Standard & Poor’s and DBRS Ltd. in the past 15 months on $629 million of bonds backed by car loans to people with bad credit histories, even as Moody’s and Fitch said they wouldn’t grant such rankings.


Borrowers are finding more options than ever to get the top ratings that many investors require after U.S. regulators doubled the number of companies sanctioned to assess securities to 10 since 2006. That expansion is facing scrutiny as the Securities and Exchange Commission met today in Washington to discuss Senator Al Franken’s plan to create a board to select which firms grade asset-backed bonds, rather than leaving it to the banks that pay the raters.

“Imagine the pharmaceutical industry having six FDAs, all competing to approve drugs,” said Rob Dobilas, who founded Realpoint LLC, the credit-rating company bought by Morningstar Inc. in 2010, referring to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “Everyone would be dead.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-14/ratings-shopping-revived-in-asset-backed-rebound-credit-markets.html

[icarusxat]

8. intelligent, class act all the way...

humorous people always seem to be the smartest. would love to be able to meet him someday...

[liberal from boston]

9. Senator Franken

Excellent interview!!! Just love Al Franken!!! Hopefully, his proposal will become law!!!!