Following the decision that the proposed second bailout for Greece would constitute a default, and the subsequent downgrading of Portugal's debt, politicians in France, Germany and Brussels have called for a breaking of the oligopoly of ratings agencies (there are three main ones, Standard & Poor's, Moody's and Fitch) and the creation of a new European one.
There is in fact much to criticise with the agencies, the principal one being that they are paid by the issuer of the debt and thus might favour it, but in this case it is...er.. Portugal.
The idea that markets might have confidence in a new Euro-friendly one is so laughable that it could only have been made by people completely out of touch with reality (which is indeed the case).
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