I'm not the best writer in the world, but I love (you might notice) reproducing the words of insightful folks. I found this on the Times and wanted to share, about the S&P fine from the Attorney General: Donald Coureas Virginia Beach, VA 30 minutes ago The government settlement with S&P is just a "same old, same old." Attorney General Holder says this settlement reached makes clear that this kind of conduct will never be tolerated by the Department of Justice again. His statement is refuted by the terms of the settlement that was accepted by the government. $1.3B is peanuts when one considers the harm that the S&P did to investors and the general public. To mention only a few: the trillions of dollars doled out by the Federal Reserve to keep the banks liquid to avoid a total catastrophe; no judicial approval required of the settlement; no requirement that the S&P admit wrong-doing so none of its officers sentenced to the appropriate prison time; and the S&P was paid by the wrong-doers to rate these investments, which is a conflict of interest on its face. This settlement, like many others, will not deter the cheaters on Wall Street and the agencies they employ to rate their investments, but conversely, encourages the same wrongful conduct in the future.