Rating Agencies and the Boy who cried Wolf

These days Rating Agencies seem to be more the story of the Boy who cried Wolf,  here is the story http://www.storyarts.org/library/aesops/stories/boy.html

The Rating Agencies today are like the Squirrel in this picture - Insignificant 

There was a  time when even a sniffle by the rating agencies would send a chill down the spine of nations and financial institutions. But thanks to a few mistimed moves the rating agencies are seen more as Squirrels burrowing away rather then Messengers of Risk.
Last month the Rating Agencies threatened to downgrade the rating of the European countries, but surprise was the European Markets rallied back with scant disregard to the threats of the rating agencies.
It is time for the Rating Agencies to act and cry Wolf only when required rather than like the Boy in the story. Else when financial catastrophe descends the rating agencies would not have Rung the Alarm Bells on Time or even if they did everyone would ignore them.
It is time for the Rating Agencies to Roar like a Lion and be effective and be heard and reckoned. Time for them to get their act together and also bring back their credibility in 2012.