Credit rating agencies : investment

The credit rating agencies (CRAs) were also subject to SEC s light regulatory oversight. Because the CRAs were paid by the investment banks whose... 

There has been extensive recent rethinking of the role of fees and fines as means of influencing industrial decision making with regard to investment in pollution control equipment and pollution-free processes. In their new roles, fees and fines take the form of tax write-offs and credits for polluhon control investment taxes on the sulfur and lead content of fuels continuing fines based on the pollution emission rate and effluent fees on the same basis. Tax write-offs and credits tend to be resisted by treasury officials because they diminish tax income. Air pollution control agencies tend to look with favor on such write-offs and credits because they result in air pollution control with minimal effort on the part of their staffs and with minimal effect on their budget. 

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