Bangkok--11 Jul--Standard & Poor's
In light of sluggish consumer demand and some uncertainty about economic and credit market conditions, the media and entertainment, oil and gas, and retail/restaurants sectors were, in Standard & Poor's opinion, the most troubled sectors as of July 5, 2011, said an article published today.
U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose just 54,000 in May, well below the 190,000 consensus expectation. This comes after the prior two months were downwardly revised for a net 39,000 jobs lost.
In the article published today, titled "Stress In Corporate America: The Three Most Stressed Sectors Are Holding Steady But Face Headwinds," we use three of our preexisting research publications--weakest links, potential bond downgrades, and the distressed report--to identify and spotlight U.S. sectors we believe are currently subject to the highest levels of credit stress.
"We identified 90 companies in the media and entertainment, oil and gas, and retail/restaurants sectors that meet at least one of the criteria described above," said Diane Vazza, head of Standard & Poor's Global Fixed Income Research. "Of the 90 companies in these three sectors, 21 are on more than one list, indicating even higher vulnerability."
"These sectors account for some of the largest contributions to negative bias in the speculative-grade segment," said Ms. Vazza. "Media and entertainment leads with 21.1% of the total, followed by oil and gas at 10% and retail/restaurants at 7.7%. However, current negative bias levels are either lower than or close to the long-term averages in all three sectors."
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