Bangkok--28 Apr--Standard & Poor's
U.S. nonfinancial upgrades outnumbered downgrades through the first three months of 2011 after doing so in December for the first time in 13 years. In first-quarter 2011, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services upgraded 86 issuers with $273.7 billion in rated debt, compared with 56 downgrades worth $163.2 billion in rated debt, said an article published today by Standard & Poor's, titled "U.S. Nonfinancial Upgrades Continued To Outpace Downgrades In The First Quarter."
"This kept the downgrade-to-upgrade ratio at 0.7 to 1, the same ratio as full-year 2010," said Diane Vazza, head of Standard & Poor's Global Fixed Income Research. "The ratio is down significantly from the high of 4.4 to 1 in 2009 and the long-term average of 2.7 to 1."
"The last time the downgrade-to-upgrade ratio was at this level was in 1997, though credit conditions were notably different," said Ms. Vazza. "In the two years prior to 1997, credit conditions were benign and downgrades to upgrades were about 1 to 1. On the other hand, 2010 followed two consecutive years of both a recessionary economy and weak credit markets."
The media and entertainment sector continued to dominate U.S. nonfinancial rating actions, accounting for 18% of all rating actions in first-quarter 2011.
The retail and restaurants sector had the second-highest total number of rating actions, with 12 downgrades and five upgrades--a reversal of 2010's 21 upgrades and 17 downgrades.
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Media Contact:
Mimi Barker, New York (1) 212-438-5054,
[email protected]
Analyst Contacts:
Diane Vazza, New York (1) 212-438-2760