Fuck It

Ambac throws in the towel. Bloomberg (01.18.08):

"Ambac Financial Group Inc., the second-largest bond insurer, scrapped a plan to raise equity capital after a 70 percent plunge in the company's stock price the past two days.

'Raising equity capital is not an attractive option at this time,' New York-based Ambac said today in a statement."

Ambac Scraps Capital Raising Plan After Stock Slump

"Without new capital, Ambac risks losing its AAA insurance rating that it depends on for its main business of guaranteeing securities. Ambac said Jan. 16 it planned to sell $1 billion of shares or convertible notes to bolster its capital after losses on subprime-mortgage securities."

But when it became obvious no one was going to pony up for the notes, it became more of an impossible dream than an unattractive option.

Man, are they pissed at S&P and Moody's. "Ambac cited 'market conditions and other factors' for its decision. They include 'the recent actions of certain ratings agencies,' Ambac said."

Probably should keep these guys apart for a while, eh?

UPDATE: See, also: Fitch.