REAL OR FULFILLING A PROMISE?

This is the good news:

Relief rally lifts bond insurers
Shares of Ambac, MBIA rise after Moody's
reiterates triple-A ratings
By John Spence & Alistair
Barr, MarketWatch
Last update: 6:07 p.m. EST Dec. 17, 2007

BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Shares of bond insurer Ambac Financial jumped 17% on Monday as investors breathed a sigh of relief after Moody's Investors Service affirmed the company's triple-A rating with a stable outlook.
Moody's also kept Aaa ratings on other bond insurers, although it warned that some ratings may be downgraded in the future.

Moody's kept its Aaa rating of MBIA Inc. but downgraded its outlook to negative from stable.

Let's recall, however, that a Moody's executive supposedly said that Moody's would never downgrade an insurer because "that would put the guarantors out of business."