European leaders take aim at rating agencies

"There is no doubt the rating agencies were wrong in 2008," said Simon Tilford, chief economist with the Centre for European Reform in London. "But now the agencies are doing the eurozone a favor by exposing the unsustainability of these plans moving forward. If a private-sector one emerges, great," Tilford said. "But if we are talking about a rating agency funded with public money, it will have no more credibility than a rating issued by the Chinese government."