Bangkok--28 Nov--Standard & Poor's Eight new issuers were downgraded to speculative grade from investment grade since last month, according to an article published today by Standard & Poor's. The report, titled "Global Potential Fallen Angels (Premium)," says that seven of the eight fallen angels belong to the U.S., and five of the U.S. fallen angels were from the housing-related segment, which has experienced exceptional volatility in recent months. "Globally, fallen angels have outpaced rising stars in the year to date, like the trend observed in 2006 but in contrast with the trend seen in 2004 and 2005," said Diane Vazza, head of Standard & Poor's Global Fixed Income Group. "This trend is attributable to crossover activity in the U.S., where fallen angels have exceeded rising stars each year since 2005." Financial market turbulence temporarily put a lid on M&A activity, which has played a key role in the crossover of companies from investment grade to speculative grade this year. This month the share of fallen angels (by number of issuers) associated with acquisition-related activity inched down to 49% from 63% a month ago. As of Nov. 6, 2007, 31% of companies identified as most likely to lose their investment-grade status were affected by risks from acquisition-related (including LBO) activity. Ms. Vazza added, "There is a significant rise in the volume of debt affected by fallen angels in 2007 year to date. The $116.5 billion affected by fallen angel downgrades has already surpassed the total $70.2 billion affected in all of 2006." The report is available to RatingsDirect subscribers who have upgraded their package to include the Global Fixed Income Research add-on. RatingsDirect is 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 with the Global Fixed Income Research add-on, please contact your local Standard & Poor's representative or [email protected] for further information. 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 Standard & Poor's, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP), is the world's foremost provider of financial market intelligence, including independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research and data. With approximately 8,500 employees, including wholly owned affiliates, located in 21 countries, Standard & Poor's is an essential part of the world's financial infrastructure and has played a leading role for more than 140 years in providing investors with the independent benchmarks they need to feel more confident about their investment and financial decisions. For more information, visit http://www.standardandpoors.com. Key Contacts: Americas Media Relations: (1) 212-438-6667 media_ [email protected] Americas Customer Service: (1) 212-438-7280 [email protected]