The ratings agencies speak posted by Richard Seymour

The banks have pronounced which party they want to govern us, and the Credit Rating Agencies are preparing to tell us who’s really in charge

An alliance of the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties to form a British coalition government would “almost guarantee” a credit downgrade, BNP Paribas SA said, recommending investors sell the pound against the dollar.

A cut in the rating is likely “since both parties agree that early expenditure cuts could harm the economy,” a team at BNP Paribas led by London-based Hans-Guenter Redeker wrote in a research note today. “A Labour/Liberal government is the least- liked option by markets.”

You know, I really don’t know why we bothered with an election.

I predict this will be all over the Tory media within an hour.

I still can't muster much enthusiasm for the Lab-Lib-nats rainbow coalition, but it would be nice to see the bankers forced to work that bit harder for their pound of flesh (or, rather, their 167 billion pounds of flesh), and a delicate coalition of the 'progressive' parties would be just the ticket on that score.

Labels: bankers, credit crunch, credit ratings agencies, cuts, liberal democrats, new labour, public spending, tories