Agency ratings tend to produce identical default rates for companies in the same industry but located in different countries.

Empirically, changes in bond and stock prices tend to be greater in cases of ratings downgrades than ratings upgrades.

Rating agencies produce point-in-time ratings, as these are designed to provide the best current estimate of future default probabilities.

Rating agencies provide outlooks to indicate the potential for a change in rating in the short-term, and use watchlists to indicate medium-term changes.