

Moody's takes rating actions on nine Hong Kong banks - mdelias
http://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-takes-rating-actions-on-nine-Hong-Kong-banks--PR_275029

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mathattack
I just don't see how this is retaliation. Moody's is a public company. While
the US government could conceivably put pressure on the firm to do something
like this, they have a lot more tools at their disposal. In addition, the
government has a lot of incentive to keep Chinese capital markets happy. If
things go awry, it could hurt the American government even more. What if the
Chinese banks decide not to hold any more US debt? It starts a bad cycle.
Nobody wins in a trade war.

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kwestro
Well, that's quite a stretch. I don't see where Snowden fits in. Plus, the
rating agencies are already under heavy scrutiny over the housing market
crisis.

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jontro
Retaliation? Does not look like it. What proof is there that this has been a
political move?

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Zweihander
The rationale is justified. Not everyone is bullish on Hong Kong. They
could've been inclined to do this already and this pushed them over but this
isn't purely a political play.

