John Williams of Shadow Government Statistics was interviewed in the 3rd hour of the Feb. 18th Financial Sense Newshour. During the segment, Williams made some very strong points about how one set of corrupt statistics can ripple through to the reporting of a larger set of economic numbers. You can listen to the interview by clicking the Newshour link and choosing your listening format.
S&P cut Nasdaq's credit rating to junk status citing debt burdens and its questionable strategy to buy a controlling interest in the London Stock Exchange. Financial Times reported that the exchange's counterparty credit & bank loan rating were lowered fromm BBB- (lowest investment grade rating) to BB+. The change will increase Nasdaq's borrowing costs should it wish to pursue aquisition targets. For an earlier look at the exchange consolidation trend that brought about Nasdaq's push for a stake in the LSE, please see "Exchange fever" .