Fitch Ratings: U.S. Corporate Bond Volume Downgrades Fall in Q1'2003.Business Editors NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 20, 2003 While default volume in the first quarter of 2003 trailed off dramatically for the U.S. corporate bond market compared with the first three months of 2002, volume downgrades continued to exceed upgrades by a dollar margin of ten to one, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a new report published today by Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings An international rating agency for financial institutions, insurance companies, and corporate, sovereign, and municipal debt. Fitch Ratings has headquarters in New York and London and is wholly owned by FIMALAC of Paris. . The flow of rating activity for the U.S. bond market remained negative, although, in gross dollar volume, total downgrades at $81.8 billion were down substantially from fourth-quarter 2002's $203.3 billion. 'Net rating movements in 19 of the 25 industry sectors tracked by Fitch Ratings were negative in the first quarter of 2003,' said Paul Paul, 1901–64, king of the Hellenes (1947–64), brother and successor of George II. He married (1938) Princess Frederika of Brunswick. During Paul's reign Greece followed a pro-Western policy, and the Cyprus question was temporarily resolved. Mancuso, Director, Credit Market Research, Fitch Ratings. 'The speculative-grade sector suffered the brunt brunt n. 1. The main impact or force, as of an attack. 2. The main burden: bore the brunt of the household chores. of negative rating activity with volume downgrades over the quarter of 9.2%.' In contrast, volume downgrades declined substantially for the investment grade sector. 'While 8.2% of the investment grade sector was downgraded in the last quarter of 2002, the rate fell to 1.9% in the first quarter of 2003.' said Mariarosa Verde, Managing Director, Credit Market Research, Fitch Ratings. 'In fact, the dollar volume of investment grade downgrades, at $38 billion, was the lowest quarterly tally in more than a year.' New issuance in the U.S. corporate bond market totaled $194 billion in the first quarter (straight bonds only), which, at an annualized annualized Of or relating to a variable that has been mathematically converted to a yearly rate. Inflation and interest rates are generally annualized since it is on this basis that these two variables are ordinarily stated and compared. rate, surpasses the $608.8 billion issued in 2002 and the $655.7 billion issued in 2001. Telecommunication telecommunication Communication between parties at a distance from one another. Modern telecommunication systems—capable of transmitting telephone, fax, data, radio, or television signals—can transmit large volumes of information over long distances. volume fell relative to financing activity in other sectors, and insurance joined banking and finance, utilities and energy in the ranks of the top new issuance sectors for the quarter. New bond sales continued to come from sectors that have substantial debt maturing in 2003, demonstrating that, for the most part, new issuance was used to refinance Refinance 1. When a business or person revises their payment schedule for repaying debt. 2. Replacing an older loan with a new loan offering better terms. Notes: When a business refinances they typically extend the maturity date. existing debt.' The new report provides a macro view of rating activity for the entire U.S. corporate bond market, including an analysis of the market's changing rating and industry mix, credit quality trends, and developments in the new issue market. The report 'U.S. Bond Market - Negative Rating Trend Persists But Volume Downgrades Fall' can be found on the Fitch Ratings web site at 'www.fitchratings.com'. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion