Why ask S&P about anything when.....

population

....not only do they miss and or ignore the greatest credit bubble in the history of modern economic times, they also come out with guff like this
http://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/property-mortgages/house-prices-have-hit-bottom-and-wont-be-moving-soon-2638054.html

What can they possibly be basing this on? Tea leaves? Chicken bones? Acknowledging a 300000 unit overhang and then still insisting prices cannot fall any further is just astounding.

fred252

not that i'm supporting them but can you think of a good alternative to ratings agencies?

(maybe there's a gap in the market for a new one that hasn't been sullied by the financial crisis)

dan_d

No...but it's a pretty amazing statement to make, let's face it.

Do they have any back up for this at all? Maybe the estate agents are putting them up to it to boost sales....:rolleyes:

meditraitor

Im not sure why this is in the Politics forum, the "steaming pile of poo" forum would be a better place for that article

Standard & Poor's used house price data from the ESRI and Permanent TSB.

^^ says it all really

Prakari

I would downgrade S&P to junk status.

jmayo

population wrote: »

....not only do they miss and or ignore the greatest credit bubble in the history of modern economic times, they also come out with guff like this
http://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/property-mortgages/house-prices-have-hit-bottom-and-wont-be-moving-soon-2638054.html

What can they possibly be basing this on? Tea leaves? Chicken bones? Acknowledging a 300000 unit overhang and then still insisting prices cannot fall any further is just astounding.

Someone somewhere is having a laugh.
And people wonder why they got the subprime crud so badly wrong ? :rolleyes:

RobbieTheRobber

jmayo wrote: »

Someone somewhere is having a laugh.
And people wonder why they got the subprime crud so badly wrong ? :rolleyes:

This is the same subprime packages that ratings agencies where giving triple A ratings too not so long ago, so that they were considered suitable low risk investments for the likes of pensions schemes.

These ratings agencies stink!

Liam Byrne

far more affordable for ordinary buyers.

What planet are they on, considering that no-one has any cash and the banks are refusing to give loans & mortgages, as well as hiking rates up ?

The only people buying are those who are loaded and who are pushing the prices of even last month's "bargain auction" back up to unrealistic levels.

Vested interests rule again, methinks.

paddy0090

There are people looking to buy houses, to live in, not as an investment I think this is there point. Also prices in and around Dublin will stabilise faster than the rest of the country.

We're not all looking at it from an investment perspective. I recently bnought a house myself and quite happy with it. Just the one and don't care if you think I'm 'mad for not buying two' or 'mad buying one at all'.

They're looking at the strength of the mortgages that will arise in the current market over the next few years. People who can afford to buy a home will buy. People who can't afford a mortgage won't be getting one(this may include some 90% of the population), so if an asset backed security(asset in the very loosest sense of the word) of Irish mortgages comes on the market they can give it a AAA rating. Thats probably 3-4 years down the road though. Good to get the ground work done now.

Delancey

Have the Ratings Agencies had any sanction imposed on them ( fines , etc ) for the part they played in the sub-prime disaster ?

ballsymchugh

i would save your opinions of the ratings agencies until you see inside job.

then you'd want to burn them out of their offices.

i honestly don't see why their opinions (and that's all they are) are given any credit since they gave AIG a triple A rating the day before it had to be bailed out.