Krugman On the Subprime Crisis

To be fair, the rating agencies are waiting until the market has determined bond prices, before committing to their new and improved bond ratings.

 

Bond Rating Agency Mission Statement:

We must pander to the idiots that are our customers.

 

You should put your money where your mouth is and buy some then - they're pretty cheap...

 

How do you know I am not. There will come a time when junks are worth picking up. (properly hedged of course)

 

The other half is that several banks don't know how much debt they have from those innovations as a result of the subprime meltdown. Maybe Krugman is calling for a more thorough understanding of these tools before widespread use?