Bangkok--21 Oct--Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services upgraded two issuers to investment grade ('BBB-' and higher) from speculative grade ('BB+' and lower) this past month, said an article published Monday, October 19 by Standard & Poor's Global Fixed Income Research. This brings the tally of rising stars to 16 issuers so far this year, affecting debt worth US$51.46 (?34.84) billion.
This is the lowest year-to-date tally of rising stars since 2003, when 14 issuers had ratings raised to investment grade, according to the article, titled "Global Potential Rising Stars (Premium)."
We define potential rising stars as entities rated 'BB+' with either a positive outlook or ratings on CreditWatch with positive implications.
Since last month, two issuers were removed and two issuers were added to our list of global potential rising stars, leaving the total unchanged at 10 issuers with US$12.07 (?8.17) billion in rated debt. This is the lowest tally on record since our series began in 2002.
"So far this year, fallen angels have exceeded rising stars by a margin of 51 issuers," said Diane Vazza, head of Standard & Poor's Global Fixed Income Research. "The volatility in the credit markets, coupled with overall downward pressure, especially noted by the sharp decline in potential rising stars and general malaise regarding global economic and credit circumstances, supports our belief that crossover credit quality is more strongly poised for credit deterioration rather than improvement."
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 Ratings in the left navigation bar, select Find a Rating. Members of the media may request a copy of this report by contacting the media representative provided.
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