S&P should pick its own timing

Standard & Poor’s unexpectedly withdrew its rating of Nine Dragons Paper Holdings last week, taking the unusual step of announcing the move during Hong Kong trading hours. BB rated Nine Dragons’ stock plummeted 15% in one hour, before it was belatedly suspended. Some investors were fuming. But calls for the regulator to impose hard rules on when agencies can and can’t release their reports are misguided. Let the market decide.