Report: Standard & Poor's is Under Investigation

 　　A major American newspaper says the U.S. is investigating the financial services company that downgraded the U.S. credit rating for its faulty rating of mortgage securities that played a major role in the country's 2008 recession.

　　The New York Times reported that the Justice Department is looking at dozens of securities that Standard & Poor's rated as safe investments that later turned out to include mortgages that were not repaid by borrowers. The failure of the investments has been partly blamed for the sharp downturn in the U.S. economy three years ago, a recession from which it is still struggling to recover.

　　The newspaper said the investigation¹ began before Standard & Poor's recently cut the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA-plus. The credit downgrade was an indication the firm's analysts² viewed the U.S. as a slightly riskier³ bet to repay its debts in the aftermath of a contentious⁴ political debate over raising the country's borrowing limit. The two other major credit rating firms, Moody's Investor⁵ Services and Fitch Ratings, have continued to give the U.S. their top ratings.

　　Some lawmakers in the U.S. have grown increasingly wary⁶ about the role of the financial services firms in setting credit ratings on the safety of investing in government and corporate⁷ bonds. With the unprecedented⁸ U.S. credit downgrade, some government officials have been looking for ways to lessen⁹ the impact of such ratings, which investors¹⁰ rely on to decide which securities to buy.

　　The Times reported that Justice Department investigators¹¹ have been looking at whether some S & P analysts wanted to set lower ratings on the mortgage securities before the recession started, but were overruled by the company's business managers. Companies selling securities pay the ratings agencies to provide a rating, and the newspaper said that some security sellers shopped around among the ratings agencies to make sure they would receive a favorable rating before agreeing to do business with them.

　　Standard & Poor's said it is cooperating with all investigators looking at its operations.

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

3 riskier   

冒险的，危险的( risky的比较级 )

参考例句：

• Now they are starting to demand higher returns on riskier assets. 而今他们开始在风险更高的资产上要求更高的回报。
• The problem with that: RIM's business is getting riskier every quarter. 不过问题也随之而来：RIM面临的业务风险正逐季增大。

4 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

5 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

6 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

7 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

8 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

9 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

10 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

11 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》