“Their plans, if implemented, would represent not only a technological feat—tying peoples Internet lives with shopping activities—but also an erosion of the idea of anonymity on the Web. Its an effort by the two companies to profit by selling access to the insights they gather about people with every credit-card transaction.”

“The ratings firms are likely to draw the same conclusion if the super committee fails in its task, Harris warned. “The credit rating agencies have strongly suggested that further rating cuts are likely if Congress does not come up with a credible long-run plan,” Harris wrote. “Hence, we expect at least one credit downgrade in late November or early December when the super committee crashes.”

“Credit-rating companies routinely award higher rankings to debt issued by banks and corporations that pay them the most, a conflict of interest that may escape Congressional efforts to change the way they do business.”

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