Bangkok--11 Dec--Standard & Poor's
The number of global fallen angels, or issuers downgraded to speculative grade ('BB+' and lower) from investment grade ('BBB-' and higher), increased sharply since our previous report, said an article published today by Standard & Poor's, titled "Global Potential Fallen Angels (Premium)." The tally rose by seven to 74 fallen angels with rated debt worth US$239.89 (?161.41) billion.
"By debt volume, the current fallen angel tally surpasses the full-year 2008 total of US$226.42 billion," said Diane Vazza, head of Standard & Poor's Global Fixed Income Research Group. "This results partially from the fallout of Dubai World's request for a six-month moratorium on its debt payments, aiding in the downgrades of three UAE-based issuers."
Our tally of global potential fallen angels decreased by two this past month to 70 issuers with US$192.40 (?129.45) billion in rated debt. These companies are rated 'BBB-' and have either a negative outlook or ratings on CreditWatch with negative implications.
By count, finance companies lead 2009's fallen angels to date with 12 entities, followed by banks with 11 entities and utilities with eight.
Sectors poised to lead fallen angel incidence are banks with 16 entities, followed by consumer products with nine and metals, mining, and steel with seven.
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 by using the Ratings search box located in the left column at www.standardandpoors.com. 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