กรุงเทพฯ--25 ม.ค.--Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services expects that U.S. state and local governments will for the most part maintain medium to high investment-grade ratings in 2011, although downgrades may increase in number, according to a report, "Outlook: U.S. State And Local Governments Must Navigate Turbulent Conditions To Maintain Credit Stability," published today on RatingsDirect on the Global Credit Portal. Difficult economic and revenue conditions could result in severe budget pressures requiring tough choices by government officials.
"We believe that continued revenue decreases for state and local government may increase fiscal strain on budgets, and monitoring of liquidity will be especially important in 2011," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Gabriel Petek.
The report says that, in addition to managing liquidity, U.S. state and local governments will need to continue to make sometimes difficult and unpopular budget choices and pay increasing heed to bond market conditions and pension costs. "However," adds Mr. Petek, "we do not feel that such difficulties will cause any sort of notable increase in defaults among our rated issuers."
The report is available to RatingsDirect subscribers on the Global Credit Portal at www.globalcreditportal.com and RatingsDirect subscribers at www.ratingsdirect.com. If you are not a RatingsDirect subscriber, you may purchase a copy of the report by calling (1) 212-438-7280 or sending an e-mail to
[email protected]. Ratings information can also be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site by using the Ratings search box located in the left column at www.standardandpoors.com. Members of the media may request a copy of this report by contacting the media representative provided.
Media Contact:
Ana Sandoval, New York (1) 212-438-5095,
[email protected]
Analyst Contacts:
Gabriel Petek, CFA, San Francisco (1) 415-371-5042
Robin Prunty, New York (1) 212-438-2081
Steven J Murphy, New York (1) 212-438-2066