Bangkok--26 Aug--Standard & Poor's Following on the heels of last month's 10% increase, the Standard & Poor's distress ratio has advanced again to 24.8%, said an article published today. (Distressed credits are speculative-grade rated issues that have option-adjusted spreads of more than 1,000 basis points relative to Treasuries.) The article, which is titled "U.S. Distressed Debt Monitor: Distress Ratio Advances To Nearly 25% In August (Premium)," says that in the year to date, the distress ratio has expanded nearly 19% from December's level. The distress ratio is at its highest level since March 2003, and the 12-month moving average has hit 13.8%. This increase runs alongside the recent rise in speculative-grade spreads, which were at 780 bps on Aug. 15 from 763 bps a month earlier. By debt volume, the finance companies and media and entertainment sectors take the lead, each accounting for just under $100 billion (60.4%) of the total. "When looking at the distress ratio based on outstanding debt, the finance savings and loan sector is at a stratospheric high of 91.8%," said Diane Vazza, head of Standard & Poor's Global Fixed Income Research Group. "This means that nearly 92% of the speculative-grade debt in this sector is attributable to companies trading at distressed levels." It should be noted that only five issues attributable to three firms within this sector possess speculative-grade ratings. Overall, the composition of this month's distress list is little changed from July. Most sectors have maintained their relative contribution to the overall count of distressed issues, with the largest increase (1.5% of the total) belonging to the finance company sector and the largest decrease (only 1%) in the automotive sector. 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: David Wargin, New York (1) 212-438-1579, [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]