Bangkok--20 Aug--Standard & Poor's Globally, four more entities moved to speculative grade territory since our last report, said an article published today by Standard & Poor's. The article, which is titled "Global Potential Fallen Angels (Premium)," says that this pushed the tally for the year to date to 23. The affected rated debt of US$70.99 (?47.66) billion is already more than 50% of the total debt US$131.29 (?88.21) billion affected all of last year. As of Aug. 12, 2008, 43 entities, higher than both last August's count and the 12-month trailing average, with rated debt worth US$73.35 (?49.26) billion have been identified as the potential fallen angels, defined as entities rated 'BBB-' with either a negative outlook or with ratings on CreditWatch with negative implications. "Sectors poised to lead fallen-angel incidence include utilities with seven entities and the forest products and building materials and consumer products sectors with five entities each," said Diane Vazza, head of Standard & Poor's Global Fixed Income Research Group. Based on rated debt volume, U.S. transportation company CSX Corp. is the largest potential fallen angel, with $9.14 billion in rated debt. RatingsDirect is the real-time Web-based source for Standard & Poor's credit ratings, research, and risk analysis, at www.ratingsdirect.com. The standard version of this article is part of our standard Global Fixed Income Research content. The premium version contains expanded analysis of the article's most significant points, typically broken out by sector and region. Also in the premium version are in-depth charts and tables, the underlying data of which are available for download. 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 Contacts: 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 23 countries and markets, 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]