Another Aspect Of Goldman Sachs Suit

I don't know much about what was actually done by Goldman Sachs, but if the SEC's version of the story is correct, then it is certainly fair to say that they were guilty of fraud.

One aspect that has been mostly forgotten by most is mentioned in Jonathan Weil's latest column:

"While those clients may have been seeking exposure to subprime mortgages, and may even have been unconscionably stupid for doing so, they surely weren’t seeking exposure to the other side of a cherry-picked trade created for the exclusive benefit of one of the world’s largest hedge funds. They probably aren’t happy, either, with Moody’s or Standard & Poor’s, which, you guessed it, slapped AAA ratings on the CDOs’ highest rungs."

Yet Again, the question arises, why would would anyone want to pay attention to what rating agencies say?