I GET AN ANSWER ABOUT THE RATINGS COMPANIES

I wondered if they will be held accountable for over-valuing the sub-prime crap and Jonathan Weil has the answer: NO

From Bloomberg:

What about all those fancy mathematical models that Citigroup used to calculate the values of these holdings, in the absence of quoted market prices?
Free Speech
It turns out the models depended to a large degree on inputs reflecting what the rating companies say, or more precisely, what the rating firms had gotten around to saying as of Sept. 30. These, recall, are the same ratings concerns that say they aren't liable for their errors or misjudgments -- like the one about housing prices rising forever -- because they merely write opinions protected by the First Amendment.

Let's see, the ratings companies make MONEY by providing the ratings but can't be held accountable? Isn't this a MORAL HAZARD?