& S&P only got around to a downgrade days before the bankruptcy was announced.
At this point, many firms are considering having in-house ratings agencies because they realize that the official system is irreparably busted.
This is one stock I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole.

Originally posted in thread: 249

they downgraded Enron's bonds after Enron announced they had overstated earnings for five years. Moody's like all rating services can only go by what the company reports (certified by an "independent" accountant firm). AA lied, Enron lied, and Moody's had no reason to believe anything other than what they reported.

Disclosure: I have no stock in Moody's, and had none in Enron.

Originally posted in thread: 249

at best has a duopoly and at worst has oligopoly (what a mouthful of words!!).

if i had some cash lying around, i would be loading up.

Originally posted in thread: 249

One reservation...they have not grown book value over the last decade. W.B. refers to book value as a proxy for intrinsic value. Something looks wrong here that it has not consistantly increased over the last years..

Originally posted in thread: 249

i am giving this reply by my understanding and NOT research so could be very much off base . correct me if i am wrong.

book value is only a useful resource for industries like industrial materials, consumer goods etc etc.

for a company that rates debt or for that matter some other company that is based mostly on IP (intellectual property) looking at book value wont tell you any story. i am regurgitating from my head something i read about book value not being a good estimate of some specific type of industries. long time back i read somewhere..

i could be totally wrong though.

Originally posted in thread: 249

It's borrowing money to buyback shares.

Originally posted in thread: 249

when considering a "net-net" value play. The old Benjamin Graham model.

Originally posted in thread: 249

Is all the really bad news in?

What may be different this time, is that soon the lawsuits are going to really fly. Moodys will be sued by a vast number of parties, and these suits / settlement may be costly.

I am just throwing this out there for consideration, and have not looked very closely at the fundamentals.

Do you all think this HUGE tide of upcoming lawsuits are already in the price?

Originally posted in thread: 249

lawsuit issue is priced in or not. When trust is violated it's gone. This firm has suffered a severe blow to its reputation.
Congress may act to restrict its function since it's obvious that there's a severe conflict of interest having fees paid to Moody's by the very entities that want to get good ratings plastered on their bonds.
The monopoly (or duoploly) isn't worrking.

Originally posted in thread: 249

http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/070819/cramer_barrons.html?.v=1

however, M* thinks their moat is intact, even after congress passed laws that faciliates entry of new players in the market.

if there ever was a "toll road collector" business, this is one.

Why am i not buying?
i am still worried about the slew of lawsuits coming, depressing the stock for years to come. does anyone see any red flags in this firm using debt to buy back shares. is it because they think its a value or is it because they are propping up the stock price.....wish i knew some answers to these.

Originally posted in thread: 249

sorry about the link in previous post. its from my clipboard and i thought i was pasting a link to an article showing some senator calling into a review on the ratings agencies.

today Moodys is down on heavy volume trading

Originally posted in thread: 249