Downward Spiral of Deep Junk

"The bond insurance industry has guaranteed more than $1 trillion of bonds issued by U.S. cities and states as well as bonds backed by mortgages, credit cards and other assets, and the guarantee allows borrowers to use the insurers' AAA rating. A loss of confidence by investors in the insurers' credit quality threatens the survival of the industry and the price of the thousands of bonds it guarantees."

You know what this reminds us of? Its just like those mortgage scams where you get to pay to use someone else's FICO score! Except in this case, the entity with the good score probably isn't deserving of it either.