Bangkok--6 Jun--Standard & Poor's
The number of entities poised for upgrades increased by 12 from our most recent report to 289 as of May 29, said an article published today by Standard & Poor's, titled "Global Potential Upgrades: The Total Increases For The First Time Since February."
"This is the first monthly increase in the last three months and the largest monthly increase since May 2010," said Diane Vazza, head of Standard & Poor's Global Fixed Income Research. "The count of potential upgrades has increased steadily since the low of 136 in March 2009 and is up from 257 in May 2010."
We define potential upgrades as issuers that have either positive outlooks or ratings on CreditWatch with positive implications across rating categories 'AA+' to 'B-'.
Since our previous report, we removed 24 issuers from our list of potential upgrades and added another 36.
Of the issuers that were on our list of potential upgrades last month, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services raised its ratings on 18, or 6.5% of the total. One of these issuers remains on the list for further potential upgrades.
Much of the positive rating activity involved U.S. entities. Half of the new entities added to the potential upgrades list are U.S. issuers, and 15 of the 18 entities upgraded since the last report (83%) are also from the U.S.
"The sectors that account for the largest proportions of the potential bond upgrades list are media and entertainment and high technology, with 26 and 24 issuers, respectively," said Ms. Vazza.
The report is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect on the Global Credit Portal at www.globalcreditportal.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:
Mimi Barker, New York (1) 212-438-5054,
[email protected]
Analyst Contacts:
Diane Vazza, New York (1) 212-438-2760