This study examines empirically whether corporate ratings by the credit rating agency Standard & Poor's reflect fundamental and publicly observable shocks to the credit quality of companies. This serves to assess the degree of information sensitivity of external ratings, and the timeliness of...

This paper describes and evaluates "shadow" sovereign credit ratings, which represent the credit ratings of countries that are not rated by credit rating agencies. Credit ratings represent the creditworthiness of companies or governments. They are important in attracting foreign capital....