International Business News - rating http://www.ibtimes.com All articles are copyrighted by IBTimes.com 400 100 http://www.ibtimes.com/ http://www.ibtimes.com/images/top_logo_ibt2_3.gif Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Thursday raised its ratings on refiner Frontier Oil Corp. to "BB" from "BB-" and removed the ratings from CreditWatch with positive implications. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080904/s-p-boosts-frontier-oil-ratings-to-bb-from-bb.htm Thu, 04 Sep 2008 15:50:43 EDT Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Thursday lowered its ratings for Oshkosh Corp. further into junk, to "BB-" from "BB," citing expectations for weaker future demand from its key markets. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080904/s-p-cuts-oshkosh-corp-s-credit-ratings.htm Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:37:29 EDT Fitch Ratings cut its ratings for American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. another notch into junk status, saying that the slump in the automotive industry will hurt the company's production levels more than previously expected. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080904/fitch-cuts-ratings-for-american-axle.htm Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:44:29 EDT Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's on Wednesday lowered its outlook on Zions Bancorporation to negative, but affirmed its counterparty credit rating on the regional bank. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080903/s-p-lowers-outlook-affirms-rating-on-zions.htm Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:40:38 EDT Fitch Ratings on Wednesday affirmed its stable rating outlook on private equity firm Allied Capital Corp. Fitch said Allied's long-term and senior unsecured debt is a relatively low to moderate credit risk. Approximately $2 billion of debt is affected by this action. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080903/fitch-affirms-rating-on-allied-capital-corp.htm Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:23:36 EDT Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's lowered its outlook on regional bank Wilmington Trust Corp. and its subsidiary to negative in light of its broader review of U.S. regional banks, but affirmed the counterparty credit rating on the entities. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080903/s-p-lowers-outlook-for-wilmington-trust.htm Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:23:31 EDT Standard & Poor's on Wednesday lowered its credit rating on First Horizon National Corp. to "BBB" from "BBB+," which is one notch above the lowest level of investment grade debt. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080903/s-p-downgrades-first-horizons-debt-rating.htm Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:19:10 EDT Standard & Poor's on Wednesday placed Fifth Third Bancorp on negative credit watch--meaning there is a 50 percent chance the agency will lower its "A+" credit rating on the bank in the next three months. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080903/s-p-places-fifth-third-on-negative-credit-watch.htm Wed, 03 Sep 2008 13:29:19 EDT Moody's Investor Service on Wednesday upgraded the debt of cosmetics company Bare Escentuals Inc., moving its corporate family rating to three notches below investment grade. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080903/moodys-upgrades-bare-escentuals-ratings.htm Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:00:51 EDT Moody's Investors Service on Wednesday left the outlook on its ratings for Popular Inc., the parent company of Banco Popular, at "Negative" after the bank agreed to sell most of the assets remaining at its U.S. consumer finance arm. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080903/moodys-keeps-popular-inc-s-outlook-at-negative.htm Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:28:31 EDT Fitch Ratings on Tuesday placed Convergys Corp. on a negative rating watch, citing the outsourcing company's decision to consider separating its information management business into its own publicly traded company. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080902/fitch-places-convergys-on-rating-watch.htm Tue, 02 Sep 2008 18:12:27 EDT Fitch Ratings on Tuesday affirmed a "Negative" rating outlook on The Home Depot Inc., based on continued weakness in the housing market. Atlanta-based Home Depot is the largest home improvement retailer in the world, and Fitch noted the company's focus on strengthening its core retail operations as well as generating strong cash flow. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080902/fitch-says-home-depots-outlook-negative.htm Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:34:38 EDT Credit ratings agency Moody's Investors Service has placed the ratings of Tyson Foods Inc., the world's largest meat company, on review for a potential downgrade. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080829/moodys-to-review-tyson-foods-long-term-ratings.htm Fri, 29 Aug 2008 12:27:02 EDT Standard & Poor's indicated Wednesday that it might raise its rating on the debt of IKON Office Solutions Inc. because of a planned acquisition by a rival with a higher debt rating. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080827/s-p-ratings-agency-may-upgrade-ikon-debt.htm Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:05:54 EDT Standard & Poor's rating agency on Wednesday downgraded its debt rating on Canadian soft drink company Cott Corp. further into junk status and kept the company on watch for possible further downgrades. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080827/s-p-ratings-agency-lowers-debt-rating-on-cott.htm Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:21:20 EDT Fitch Ratings on Wednesday put title insurer Fidelity National Financial Inc. on its negative rating watch list, citing the unsustainability of the company's shareholder dividends. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080827/fidelity-placed-on-negative-rating-watch-list.htm Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:32:02 EDT Fitch Ratings on Wednesday affirmed its issuer default and senior unsecured debt ratings for First American Corp., an insurance and and business information company. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080827/fitch-affirms-first-american-rating.htm Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:04:36 EDT Fitch Ratings has upgraded its rating outlook on General Mills Inc. and its subsidiary, General Mills Cereals LLC, to "stable", up from "negative". Fitch said the revision reflects General Mills' strong operating performance during the 2008 fiscal year, in which commodity costs soared. Net sales grew 10 percent for General Mills for the year and segment operating profit rose 6 percent. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080825/fitch-upgrades-rating-outlook-on-general-mills.htm Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:11:08 EDT Moody's Investors Service affirmed its ratings for King Pharmaceuticals Inc. Monday in the wake of the drugmaker's disclosure it made a $1.4 billion offer for Alpharma Inc., which Alpharma's board rejected. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080825/moodys-affirms-ratings-for-king-pharmaceuticals.htm Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:52:32 EDT Fitch Ratings on Friday said it may cut its ratings on American International Group Inc. after an updated assessment on the insurer as part of an ongoing review. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080822/fitch-may-downgrade-aig-ratings.htm Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:46:09 EDT