We show that rating agencies have become more conservative in assigning credit ratings to corporations over the period 1985 to 2009. Holding firm characteristics constant, average ratings have dropped by three notches (e.g., from A to BBB ) over time. Consistent with the view that this change...

We survey CFOs from 36 countries to examine whether and why firms altered their risk management policies when fair value reporting standards for derivatives were introduced. A substantial fraction of firms (42%) state that their risk management policies have been materially affected by fair...