Ratings: Over-rated

The credit rating agencies are facing questions on Capitol Hill today over their imperfect ratings of subprime mortgage-backed bonds. So far, the hearings have achieved little other than to hint at the fatal flaws in their semi-official standing. Christopher Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, admitted that he has no power to police the accuracy of ratings from officially recognized agencies as long as they have followed appropriate procedures – for example, by minimizing t...