S&P and other agencies have faced criticism from investors, politicians and regulators for assigning their top AAA ratings to thousands of subprime and other mortgage securities that later collapsed in value.

Such agencies are paid by the issuers of bonds and other securities for ratings, raising concern about potential conflicts of interest.
BBC News - Standard & Poor's expects lawsuit over subprime ratings

So, as I understand it, S&P and other similar companies were bullshitting ratings on mortgage securities. This caused people (etc.) to buy them up because they trusted the ratings, then everything collapses and things go to shit. Right?


The case probably won't do much, other then show investors were a bit too trusting of these companies "opinion." Also that argument "Obamaz caused U.S. creditz rating to go downzors, faillllszzzz!!!! LOLOLOL," will be full shown to have been stupid, as it already was but quite a few didn't seem to understand.

Lastly, even though they supposedly were trumping them up, weren't many of the subprime securities backed with good mortgages that should of made up the risk, and it was those "good" mortgages failing that really started causing the crumble? Or is that also off?