Stocks rallied Monday after Standard & Poor's reaffirmed its AAA credit ratings for bond insurers Ambac Financial Group (ABK) and MBIA (MBI).
Investors worry the credit crisis could deepen if bond insurers, stung by subprime exposure, lose their stellar credit rating. S&P Ratings did lower its ratings for other bond insurers: FGIC fell to A from AA and XL Capital was sliced to A- from AAA. S&P also warned that it could still cut Ambac, which is trying to arrange extra capital through a bailout.
