Make sure it is licensed by your state, and check its financial soundness with a rating firm like A.M.
Chris Brown, Detroit's chief operating officer, says the city isn't anticipating a downgrade by any rating firm, making any talk of a swap payment premature.
Last year, the median sticker price at about 280 private colleges and universities tracked by the debt-rating firm rose 3.9%, the smallest increase in at least 12 years.
The rating firm found in an Aug. 3, 2011, credit opinion that one of MF Global's "credit strengths" were efforts to "strengthen risk management, " according to the subcommittee's letter.
Many question whether a mainstream fund-rating firm is up to the task, and point out that, if retail investors are led to rely on faulty measures, they may find themselves in trouble.
To the best of our knowledge no mutual fund rating firm predicted any of the mutual fund scandals or has ever seriously commented upon the legal or ethical issues related to the management of mutual funds.
Trouble in raising cash could put the firm's current rating under pressure.
Potentially crucial in shaping investor and rating-firm opinion will be U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne's budget statement on Dec. 5.
The subcommittee asked for all documents related to meetings between MF Global officials and rating firms' employees, as well names of analysts involved in rating the firm's debt.
In other words, if the firm paid up, the rating might be more accurate.
Boutique investment research firm ValuEngine has a buy rating out on Infosys.
Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Facebook (FB) with a buy rating as the firm expects the large and growing user base to be monetized over time.
Yet, compelling though the Bezos vision may be, there are signs of restlessness in the ranks of generally admiring Wall Street Internet analysts, five of whom downgraded their rating of the firm's shares after Amazon's third-quarter results a couple of weeks ago.
The ratings firm lowered Italy's credit rating by one notch to triple-B-plus, three steps above "junk" territory, citing concerns about political uncertainty at a time of economic weakness.
As for the credit-rating concerns, research firm Municipal Market Advisors said in a recent report that Detroit's "risk of downgrade" has "increased" in part because of the sharp demographic decline.
That debt was made to disappear temporarily so that at the end of the quarter Lehman would not appear to investors, counterparties, regulators and rating agencies as a firm about to become insolvent.
Debt has dropped to 3.5 times operating income from 7.2 times back in 1996, enough to support the firm's Bbb junk-bond rating.
Accenture shares are trading modestly lower Monday morning after Bernstein Research analyst Rod Bourgeois cut his rating on the IT consulting firm to Market Perform from Outperform in what it basically a pure valuation call.
Regarding how MF Global treated customer funds, the subcommittee will focus on whether the rating companies looked into the futures firm's internal processes and systems.
Last week, the firm cut Cyprus's sovereign-debt rating a notch to triple-C from triple-C-plus, saying it sees the economy now shrinking 6%, heightening the risk that Cyprus may not be able to meet the terms set for the loan.
The Bermudian firm must be prudent enough to maintain a decent credit rating: A.M.
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The 162-year-old New York-based financial services firm American Express holds the top spot with a company rating of 3.7.
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However, the firm is staying on the sidelines, maintaining a neutral rating for now, based primarily on valuation and future capex concerns.
When Lula left office, he had a popularity rating of around 85%, according to polling firm Sensus in Minas Gerais state.
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But it emphasises that it will accept information from a firm's managers even if it is not paying for a rating.
But its key short-term rating seems safe for now, an indication that the firm is in no imminent danger of the kind of credit run that brought down Bear Stearns.
The firm will collect at least part of its fee upfront, and will publish a rating even if an issuer is unhappy with it.
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It is not surprising that investors and credit-rating agencies view the prospect of a hung parliament with alarm, fearing that the lack of firm leadership will delay fiscal retrenchment.
According to staffing firm Hudson, IT workers were also less optimistic in August about their personal finances, with just 47% rating them as excellent or good, down from 62%.
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