Bangkok--4 Aug--Standard & Poor's
The count of issuers poised for upgrades has decreased by six since our previous report to a total of 260, said an article published Monday, August 2, 2010 by Standard & Poor's, titled "Upgrade Potential Across Credit Grades And Sectors (Premium)."
"This exceeds the trailing-12-month average by 52, though it's the first time the tally has decreased this year," said Diane Vazza, head of Standard & Poor's Global Fixed Income Research. Upgrade potential has gained some ground since September 2009, when the tally exceeded the trailing-12-month average for the first time in nearly two years.
We define potential upgrades as issuers that have either a positive outlook or ratings on CreditWatch with positive implications across rating categories 'AA+' to 'B-'. Since our previous report, we have added 28 issuers to our list of potential upgrades and removed another 34.
"The current tally of 260 potential bond upgrades is much higher than the five-year low of 136 issuers in March 2009," said Ms. Vazza. "In contrast, the number of potential bond downgrades is currently at 594 entities, down from its record high of 1,028 in April 2009."
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:
Jeff Sexton, New York (1) 212-438-3448,
[email protected]
Analyst Contact:
Diane Vazza, New York (1) 212-438-2760