Attorney General Eric Holder speaks at the Justice Department in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013. The U.S. government accused Standard & Poor's of inflating ratings on mortgage investments to boost its bottom line, taking aim at a key player in the run-up to the financial crisis. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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Attorney General Eric Holder speaks at the Justice Department in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013. The U.S. government accused Standard & Poor's of inflating ratings on mortgage investments to boost its bottom line, taking aim at a key player in the run-up to the financial crisis. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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FILE - This Oct. 9, 2011 file photo shows 55 Water Street, home of Standard & Poor's, in New York. S&P said Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, the U.S. government is expected to file civil charges against Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, alleging that it improperly gave high ratings to mortgage debt that later plunged in value and helped fuel the 2008 financial crisis. The charges would mark the first enforcement action the government has taken against a major rating agency involving the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams, File)
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FILE - In this April 10, 2012 file photo, a McGraw-Hill Companies building is shown in New York. Standard & Poor's, a division of McGraw-Hill, says the government plans to file a lawsuit alleging wrongdoing by the agency when it gave high ratings to mortgage-backed securities that later plunged in value and fueled the 2008 financial crisis. S&P said Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, that it has been told by the Department of Justice that it intends to file a civil lawsuit focusing on S&P's ratings on some mortgage-backed securities in 2007. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
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In this Wed. Dec. 5, 2012, photo, containers are unloaded from cargo ships at the Port of Los Angeles. Most economists agree that the snapshot of U.S. economic growth released Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2012, is going to look dismal. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
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In this Wed. Dec. 5, 2012, photo, containers are unloaded from cargo ships at the Port of Los Angeles. The U.S. economy unexpectedly shrank from October through December, the first quarterly drop since 2009 and a reminder of the economy's vulnerability as automatic cuts in government spending loom. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
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FILE - In this Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012, file photo, containers are unloaded from cargo ships at APM Terninals in the Port of Los Angeles. The U.S. economy unexpectedly shrank from October through December, the first quarterly drop since 2009 and a reminder of the economy's vulnerability as automatic cuts in government spending loom. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File)
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Clouds roil over the White House in Washington on the morning of Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012, as Washington has less than 48 hours to avert the “fiscal cliff,” a series of tax increases and spending cuts set to take hold on Jan. 1. Republican and Democratic negotiators in the Senate were hoping to reach a deal to avoid going over the cliff on Sunday. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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President Barack Obama gestures during a statement on the fiscal cliff negotiations with congressional leaders in the briefing room of the White House on Friday, Dec. 28, 2012 in Washington. The negotiations are a last ditch effort to avoid across-the-board first of the year tax increases and deep spending cuts. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
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President Barack Obama pauses during a statement on the fiscal cliff negotiations with congressional leaders in the briefing room of the White House on Friday, Dec. 28, 2012 in Washington. The negotiations are a last ditch effort to avoid across-the-board first of the year tax increases and deep spending cuts. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
News Summary: Justice Department sues S&P agency
FEET OF CLAY? The government sued Standard & Poor's rating agency, accusing it of misleading investors by giving high marks to risky subprime mortgage investments.
HEAT'S ON: The government has been announcing lawsuits and settlements with a number of firms over alleged wrongdoing that helped ignite the financial crisis. This is the first major action against a credit rating agency.
WHO KNEW? S&P says the government is too harsh, that it's being blamed for failing to predict an unpredictable crisis. It denies wrongdoing. Others say the government is too lenient, and should have sought criminal charges, not just civil.
Tags:
justice department, bond, news summary, financial crisis, finance, pleading, business, government, standard & poor's, mortgage, credit rating, credit rating agency, criminal charges, subprime mortgage crisis, alleged wrongdoing, high marks, rating agency, risky subprime mortgage, unpredictable crisis, s&p agency, major action
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