Bangkok--22 May--Standard & Poor's
The number of global weakest links continued to decline in May, reaching 161 as of May 14 from 177 in April and 293 a year ago, said an article published today by Standard & Poor's, titled "Global Bond Markets' Weakest Links And Monthly Default Rates (Premium)."
Weakest links are issuers rated 'B-' and lower with a negative outlook or ratings on CreditWatch negative. The 161 weakest links have combined rated debt worth $168.35 billion.
The U.S. leads in the number of weakest links, with 110 of the 161 entities, or 68%. By sector, media and entertainment; consumer products; banks; chemicals, packaging, and environmental services; and retail and restaurants were the most vulnerable, with the highest concentrations of weakest links.
So far in 2010 (through May 14), 34 issuers have defaulted, affecting debt worth $21.03 billion. Of the 34 defaults in 2010, 23 are from the U.S., three are from Canada, two are from New Zealand, and one each is from Argentina, Australia, Ireland, Netherlands, Indonesia, and Bahrain.
"The 12-month-trailing global corporate speculative-grade default rate declined in April 2010 to 6.96% from 8.34% in March--its fifth consecutive monthly decline," said Diane Vazza, head of Standard & Poor's Global Fixed Income Research.
"Regionally, the U.S. speculative-grade corporate default rate also fell for the fifth consecutive time, to 8.35% in April from 10.03% in March. In Europe, the default rate declined to 6.15% from 6.67%, while the emerging markets default rate decreased to 3.48% from 4.43%," said Ms. Vazza.
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Media Contact:
Mimi Barker, New York (1) 212-438-5054,
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Analyst Contact:
Diane Vazza, New York (1) 212-438-2760