1914
Moody's Manual of
Railroads and Corporation Securities
John Moody (May 2, 1868 – February 16, 1958) was an American financial analyst, businessman, and investor. He pioneered bond rating and founded Moody's Investors Service. Moody's ratings are still issued, carrying on the tradition begun by Moody's Manual of Railroads and Corporation Securities and continued by the annual Moody's Analyses of Investments.
Moody's Manual is a series of manuals published by Moody's Corporation. It was first published in 1900 by John Moody, nine years before he founded Moody's. Initially called Moody's Manual of Industrial and Miscellaneous Securities, it was later superseded by Moody's Manual of Railroads and Corporation Securities, then by Moody's Analyses of Investments. Until the 1990s, they published a series of manuals on publicly traded stocks both in the United States and internationally.
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Moody's and bond rating
Moody's was later merged into Dun & Bradstreet, only to again become an independent corporation in October 2000. Moody's status is reflected in Thomas Friedman's 1996.
There are two superpowers in the world today, in my opinion. There's the United States, and there's Moody's Bond Rating Service. The United States can destroy you by dropping bombs, and Moody's can destroy you by downgrading your bonds. And believe me, it's not clear sometimes who's more powerful. (February 13, 1996 interview with Jim Lehrer)
In 2007, Moody's Corporation was split into two operating divisions: Moody's Investors Service, the rating agency, and Moody's Analytics, with all of its other services.
Moody's Analytics
Moody's, previously known as Moody's Analytics, is a subsidiary of Moody's Corporation established in 2007 to focus on non-rating activities, separate from Moody's Investors Service. It provides economic research regarding risk, performance, and financial modeling, as well as consulting, training, and software services. Moody's comprises divisions such as Moody's KMV, Moody's Economy.com, Moody's Wall Street Analytics, the Institute of Risk Standards and Qualifications, and Canadian Securities Institute Global Education Inc.
Ideal for those who work and study in investment banking, brokerage, insurance, or railroad administration, and for individual investors seeking a solid, fact-based view of railroad securities, for knowing the past and present.
Products and services
Moody's products include Market Implied Ratings (MIR) and Expected Default Frequency (EDF) software packages. MIR applies Moody's ratings scale to credit and equity market price signals to help users identify investment opportunities; EDF estimates a company's credit default probability based on quantitative factors, including market capitalization, equity, volatility, and capital structure. The division also provides financial institutions with analytical and risk management software, including its Risk Analyst credit risk management software, which analyzes credit data for commercial loans and calculates risk.