As we are informed by The National, Standard and Poor’s (S&P) yesterday launched a regional credit-ratings system through which companies in the Gulf will be judged against each other, instead of against their global peers.
Officials at S&P said the regional ratings will generally be higher than their ratings on a global scale.
Don't measure up to Global Standards?
No problem, try our new GCC "meter stick". At just 500 mm long, you're suddenly twice as tall.
- Criticized by Lord Peter and Deputy Neal about your transparency? Remind them that on a regional scale your transparency certainly beats that of some other countries in the area.
- Your stock not doing so well since you announced that US$700+ million loss? Inform your shareholders that you're beating the performance of Enron and Lehman Brothers shares.
- Smart aleck boggers attacking your business model? Remind AA that you're innovative business model has held up quite nicely when compared to those of The Investment Dar or The International Banking Corporation.
- Distressed about a Turkish coffee stain? Recall that your spouse's former roommate once washed the oil filter and pan from his car in the kitchen sink.
Posts
3 comments:
An unbelieveable own goal(worthy of Arsenal even!).
This dumbing-down and lowering thresholds has already ruined education in Britain and elsewhere - you know it's the wrong thing to do - so obviously S+P are going ahead and demolish their reputation? What a cringemaking arselicking reaction to being dropped some time ago by Dubai..
TNR
Oh, a low blow that was. Rub salt in the proverbial wounds of 20 August?
Actually S&P have already pioneered this concept in Asia. And I believe were planning to introduce it to the GCC well before they were dropped first by Abu Dhabi and then Dubai firms.
As to standards, while I am not an avid shopper for women's clothes, often I go with Umm Arqala who usually comments on the sizing. Over the years as waistlines have gotten bigger, the sizing of women's clothes has changed. Sizes have been supersized. A size 6 today is an old size 8 or 10. (I should note here that UA is still her svelte self). There is now a size "zero".
The new S&P "special" Gulf ratings will be "distinguished" (if that word is appropriate) by a prefix. Something like "gcAAA" so you'll know they're different than a real AAA rating.
The impudence of it! First bend over backwards to allow GCC firms to 'save face' and pretend they're triple A rated and then turn around with a wink and a smirk and add a prefix - like a kind of inside joke... Everyone's a winner, everybody's happy, everyone's a size 8?
But here's why that analogy of women's dress sizes doesn't 'fit': No matter what size the label states, girls themselves will always feel too fat. They know their real size (and we men know, too!). Whereas I have that sneaking suspicion that most GCC companies actually consider themselves to be investment grade...
Post a Comment