S&P Says Business at Risk on Australian Liability Ruling

Standard & Poor’s global business may be at risk after an Australian judge ruled the company misled investors with triple A ratings on derivatives whose value plunged during the global financial crisis, the rating company’s lawyer said.

“Business would be virtually impossible” if people are found to rely on the ratings and the company is held liable for investments that fail, Steven Finch, S&P’s lawyer told a three-judge appeal panel in Sydney today in a bid to have the initial ruling overturned. “This is not investment advice.”