Monday, May 25, 2009
Intrade has opened a market on the prospect of the United States' AAA credit rating being downgraded or placed on negative outlook.
This market can be found under Financial -- Credit Ratings.
Contract Rules:
This market is for the current AAA credit rating of the United States to be put on negative watch or to be downgraded by one (or more) of these major credit rating agencies: Moodys, S&P or Fitch.
A contract will settle (expire) at 100 ($10.00) if the credit rating of the United States is put on negative watch or downgraded before midnight ET on the date specified in the contract.
A contract will settle (expire) at 0 ($0.00) if the credit rating of the United States is not put on negative watch or downgraded before midnight ET on the date specified in the contract.
Expiry will be based on the official credit ratings and/or announcements published by Moodys, S&P and Fitch. Only one of these credit rating agencies needs to put the US credit rating on negative watch, or downgrade the credit rating, for the contract to be expired.
This market covers the credit rating given to debt issued by the United States Treasury only. It does not cover debt issued by government-guaranteed institutions (such as Ginne Mae for example).
Due to the nature of this contract please also see Contract Rule 1.7 Unforeseen Circumstances.
The Exchange reserves the right to invoke Contract Rule 1.8 (Time Protection) if deemed appropriate.
Any changes to the result after the contract has expired will not be taken into account - Exchange Rule 1.4
Please contact the exchange by emailing help@intrade.com if you have any questions regarding this contract before you place a trade.
Typically initial orders and trades occur within 6 hours of the market being listed.
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