What are the Credit Ratings Agencies for? What’s the basis of their business model? How do they rate credit-worthiness? Why did S&P’s implied downgrade of US government debt cause a storm? What’s the agencies’ record like on predicting risk? Recent Boom and Bust entries have investigated the work of the credit ratings agencies, their role as lightning conductors for investor risk. But are they merely observing the ebbs and flows of state debt management, or are they part of a bigger problem?