Investing in Wall Street’s credit ratings cops was one of the decade’s sure bets for beating the market, but as the turmoil in subprime mortgages spreads to other markets and triggers hedge fund problems, the shine is coming off that play.
Upheaval in bonds linked to subprime mortgages is damping down issuance and cutting into a lucrative stream of business for bond rating agencies Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch.
