Bangkok--27 Jul--Standard & Poor's Standard & Poor's published its "U.S. Distressed Debt Monitor" report on July 20, which stated that the U.S. distress ratio rose to 0.9% in July from its all-time low of 0.8% in June (per the conventional definition). The distress ratio has remained less than 1% for five straight months. The 12-month moving average again fell to another all-time low to 1.58% this month from 1.77% in June. A year ago, the distress ratio and its moving average registered 3.2% and 5.1%, respectively. "The recent market volatility appears to have resulted in some repricing, which surfaced most visibly at the 600 basis-point level," noted Diane Vazza, head of Standard & Poor's Global Fixed Income Research Group. "The total number of rated companies with issues trading at distressed levels rose to 57, up markedly from 40 a month earlier, though still lower than the 97 companies listed in December 2006." As of July 16, distressed issues across seven sectors cumulatively affected debt worth $2.5 billion, up from the $2.1 billion reported last month. Based on debt volume, media and entertainment comprised the largest portion of the total, constituting 22% this month. Of the 57 companies on this month's distressed list, 63% had either negative outlooks or ratings on CreditWatch with negative implications, and 28% had stable, 2% positive, and 7% developing outlooks. Of the 13 companies listed at the 1,000 bps level, nine were rated 'CCC+' or lower, and all but two were on CreditWatch with negative implications, or had negative outlooks. The report is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect, the real-time Web-based source for Standard & Poor's credit ratings, research, and risk analysis, at www.ratingsdirect.com. If you are not a RatingsDirect subscriber, you may purchase a copy of the report by calling (1) 212-438-9823 or sending an e-mail to [email protected]. Ratings information can also be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site at www.standardandpoors.com; under Credit Ratings in the left navigation bar, select Find a Rating, then Credit Ratings Search. 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 Contact: Diane Vazza, New York (1) 212-438-2760