When BB+ Is A Bad Grade

NPR | By Jacob Goldstein

Published May 7, 2010 at 1:06 PM PDT

On today's Planet Money:

First, an NYU finance professor talks about yesterday's wild market swings. Turns out, a sort of "circuit breaker" that's supposed to settle the market may have backfired.

Then, we go behind the scenes at Standard & Poor's to answer a question that's been on our mind lately: How do you rate a country?

Also answered in the podcast: Do agencies think twice before lowering a country's rating to junk?

Download the podcast, or subscribe. Music: Frightened Rabbit's "Nothing Like You." Find us: Twitter/ Facebook/ Flickr.

Jacob Goldstein

Jacob Goldstein is an NPR correspondent and co-host of the Planet Money podcast. He is the author of the book Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing.

See stories by Jacob Goldstein