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AP Ackman: Bond insurers need another downgrade Wednesday June 11, 4:30 pm ET By Joe Bel Bruno, AP Business Writer Activist hedge fund manager Ackman says more downgrades are needed for MBIA, Ambac NEW YORK (AP) -- William Ackman, the billionaire activist hedge fund manager, said Wednesday that the recent downgrades of bond insurers and other financials might not have gone far enough. The founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, who is open about shorting bond insurers such as MBIA Inc., said rating agencies need to dig deeper into the companies to get a better idea of what is on...

SEC readies report on credit rating agencies Stephanie Baum 23 Apr 2008 The US Securities and Exchange Commission will issue a report this summer following an examination of credit rating agencies and their roles in the credit crunch as they prepare new rules governing their behavior. SEC chairman Christopher Cox told the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs that the focus of the SEC’s research is to determine whether the ratings agencies violated their conflict of interest rules to determine their clients’ credit ratings. Cox told the committee that the SEC is looking at requiring more transparency...