Credit rating agencies should be free to rate, but the markets should also be free of not having to follow them

Sir, you can give “Subprime ratings for rating agencies” August 17, and blame them for all but the original sin lies in having empowered them by ordering much of the markets to act in accordance to their ratings. The better the credit rating agencies gets at what they are doing and the more trustworthy they become, the worse the next explosion of a systemic risk… that is what risk is truly all about.. Tell that to the regulators.