A rating agency downgrade left Conseco officials scrambling to squelch suggestions that the finance company is heading for bankruptcy. In a statement released last week, Moody’s Investors Service said it had cut its senior debt rating of Conseco, and its finance company subsidiary, to Caa1 from B2, essentially marking the company’s notes as junk bonds. In March, the rating agency said a one-notch downgrade was likely as a result