Marketwatch – David Einhorn, head of hedge-fund firm Greenlight Capital, called AAA credit ratings a curse and said he is betting against rating agency Moody’s, during a speech at a closely watched investment conference on Wednesday.
Einhorn said that many institutions with AAA ratings, including the U.S. government, turned that supposed benefit into a disaster by borrowing recklessly, according to a hedge-fund investor who attended the conference in New York and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The leading purveyor of AAA ratings is Moody’s (MCO), so Greenlight Capital is short that company’s shares, the investor quoted Einhorn as saying.