Ratings agency Standard & Poor's, a unit of McGraw-Hill
Just seven business days after S&P downgraded the credit rating of the United States because of the contentious debt-ceiling debate, it reversed its "buy" rating of Google to "sell" because of Google's decision to buy Motorola Mobility
Patents pending
Many observers believe that Google's main reason for buying Motorola is to acquire its treasure trove of patents. Patent hording has become a big -- and controversial -- topic lately, and Google may have purchased Motorola mainly as patent-lawsuit protection.
RPX
RPX's website informs us: "Patent litigation used to be a form of legal redress. Today it is a business model." Some people may call that a form of insurance; others may call it a form of racketeering.
A recent "This American Life" podcast chronicles the effects that so-called "patent trolls" can have on tech companies -- from the smallest to the largest.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch …
Google had already failed in its bid for Nortel Networks' wireless patents earlier this year, and if the rumors were true that Microsoft
The sky is not falling yet, and I think it's a bit early for S&P to be slamming Google; that rating reversal is a bit drastic. Why didn't S&P just issue a "hold" recommendation and take a wait-and-see posture? Does it truly believe that acquiring Motorola will send Google to its doom? Or has S&P just gotten used to the limelight and is not ready to give it up?
Follow Google and Motorola by putting them in your Watchlist.