The USS Europa Discorida story just gets more and more surreal.
- ITALY PROSECUTORS WIDEN RATINGS AGENCY PROBE TO FITCH, UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR MARKET ABUSE, INSIDER TRADING - INVESTIGATIVE SOURCE
- ITALY FINANCE POLICE SEARCHING FITCH OFFICE IN MILAN, ANSA SAYS
S&P maybe? Sure. But piss off the French rating agency? As if anyone even trades in collusion with the completely unmoving announcements by the most irrelevant of the NRSROs? This is just the definition of irrational Italian scapegoating which will do nothing to help Italy-French relations, but at least it will provide "justification" for Fitch's evil downgrade when it comes - after all it was obviously in retaliation for the Italian police just doing its job. Finally, how long would an Egan-Jones office in Milan stand before it was burned to the ground: 1 week? 1 day? 1 hour?
More from Reuters
The Italian tax police was in the offices of ratings agency Fitch in Milan on Tuesday to carry out checks ordered by prosecutors investigating rival agencies Standard & Poor's and Moody's, a senior prosecutor told Reuters.
"Men from the financial police are at Fitch in Milan," said Carlo Maria Capristo, chief prosecutor in Trani.
The Trani prosecutors are investigating possible crimes of market manipulation and illicit use of privileged information when Standard & Poor's downgraded Italy earlier this month.
As part of the same probe, they are also investigating the impact reports by Standard & Poor's and Moody's on Italy and its banking system had on markets and whether any crimes were committed.