The Global Pool of Triple-A Bonds Has Shrunk Dramatically

In 2008-2009, the ratings agencies' scores were exposed to the whole world as worthless, so I'm not sure whether the following qualifies as important economic news. It does however seem likely to have financial consequences, so listen up:

The global pool of government bonds with triple A status from the three main rating agencies, the bedrock of the financial ­system, has shrunk more than 60 per cent since the financial crisis triggered a wave of downgrades across the advanced economies.

The expulsion of the US, the UK and France from the “nine-As” club has led to the contraction in the stock of ­government bonds deemed the safest by Fitch, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s, from almost $11tn at the start of 2007 to just $4tn now, according to Financial Times analysis.

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David Frum

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