Bangkok--7 Oct--Standard & Poor's
The share of global corporate speculative-grade ratings increased to 44.1% at the end of June 2011 from 41.6% one year earlier, said an article published today by Standard & Poor's, titled "A Snapshot Of The Corporate Ratings Distribution For The U.S., Europe, Emerging Markets, And Other Developed Region."
As of June 30, 2011, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services rated 2,667 entities speculative grade and 3,379 investment grade. These figures bring the total count of rated entities to 6,046, up by 7% from 5,638 a year ago.
"The share of entities rated 'CCC' and lower as of June 30, 2011, decreased to 2.2% from 3.1% at the same time in 2010," said Diane Vazza, head of Standard & Poor's Global Fixed Income Research. "The median rating of all rated entities has remained at 'BBB-' since the second quarter of 2010."
"During second-quarter 2011, 15 companies defaulted globally, and the 12-month-trailing speculative-grade default rate was 2% as of June 30," said Ms. Vazza. "Upgrades surpassed downgrades in the U.S. and emerging markets during the quarter, and the global ratio of upgrades to downgrades was 0.64 to 1."
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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