CalPERS Sues Credit Rating Agencies

posted: 135 DAYS 21 HOURS AGO

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SACRAMENTO, California (July 16) - America's largest public pension fund is suing the three Wall Street credit rating agencies, saying the firms lured the fund into bad investments.

The California Public Employees' Retirement System is blaming Moody's Investors Service, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings for more than $1 billion in investment losses.

In the lawsuit filed last week in San Francisco Superior Court, CalPERS says the agencies gave investments "wildly inaccurate and unreasonably high" grades.

CalPERS has lost roughly $60 billion in the past year. That has forced it to demand higher contributions from the state and local governments.

Standard & Poor's and Fitch say the lawsuit is baseless. A Moody's spokesman couldn't be reached for comment.

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2009-07-16 19:55:48