Tess Vigeland: You’ve heard us talk before about the credit-rating companies Standard and Poors, Moody’s and Fitch. Investors rely on their ratings to detemine if a security or bond is worth buying.
Well the Securities and Exchange Commission, the SEC, is exploring, among other things, whether those ratings should also come with a ranking about how risky the investment is. That way maybe the entire world wouldn’t be so quick to buy into things like structured investment vehicles and collateralized debt obligations.