Meanwhile, fears are growing that Germany the Continent's economic powerhouse also is at risk of losing its top-notch investment rating.
He maintained a negative investment rating on Singapore's developers and the residential property sector, citing a large supply of unsold apartments, rising vacancies in the rental market and the continued risk of more government intervention.
It defended the move by saying it was more important to maintain its current investment grade rating.
Companies with low investment grade rating are calling outstanding 7 percent preferreds and replacing them with paper yielding 5.5 percent.
"The investment grade rating substantiates all the progress Philippines has made in terms of fiscal sustainability, reforms, and improved growth outlook, " said Prakriti Sofat from Barclays Capital in Singapore.
Harman upped its dividend from 5 cents to 30 cents to 60 cents and paid down enough of its KKR-generated debt to regain an investment grade rating from the credit agencies.
FORBES: CES: Harman International Gets Its Groove On, Stock's A Buy
In exchange for an upfront fee, a bond insurer would take a bond with a midling investment grade rating -- single-A, for example -- and offer to pay investors what they were due if the issuer defaulted.
Although the main rating agencies still award big European telecom firms an investment-grade rating, some sophisticated investors think that they are now little better than junk.
Even without an investment-grade rating, the Philippines had attracted sufficient quantities of foreign investment to set off an appreciation of the peso, to roughly 40 pesos to the U.S. dollar this year from between 43 and 44 pesos to the dollar in 2011.
In fact, Tractor Supply is the only non-rated tenant and the company does not carry enough debt on its balance sheet to be rated. (effectively meaning an investment grade shadow rating would result in a portfolio that is 100 percent investment grade rated credit).
FORBES: Hit A Home Run With This REIT That Pays Double The Dividends
The Philippines, whose sovereign credit rating was upgraded to investment grade by two rating firms over the past two months, has been fighting the so-called hot-money inflows with several measures, including making it easier for locals to take money abroad and lowering a deposit rate for banks that do cross-border business.
WSJ: Asian Governments Take Measures to Battle Strong Currencies
Iceland, however, saw its national credit rating cut by two notches to Baa3 from Baa1 by Moody's, to the lowest possible investment-grade rating.
General Motors got some good news Friday: its first investment grade credit rating since going bankrupt in 2009.
Traditionally, many stodgy investors, such as pension funds, steered clear of such things because they lacked an investment-grade rating.
These measures have received positive recognition lately, as the country was recently upgraded to investment grade by rating agency Fitch.
FORBES: Small Caps Are The Rocket Stocks Of Emerging Markets
On December 8th, for example, Iljin Diamond, a maker of industrial diamonds with an investment-grade rating, issued 20 billion won-worth of three-year bonds.
The sovereign now has the lowest investment-grade rating of BBB-.
For those without an investment-grade rating, things are even worse.
The rule that all bond issues must be backed by collateral was lifted in 1979, and other restrictions were also slowly relaxed, but companies still need an investment-grade rating.
Still, an investment-grade rating is handy if, like India, you run a current-account deficit and hope to attract foreigners to help finance your vast infrastructure needs over the next decade.
Patriarch denies it breached the contract and claims in its pleadings that is wasn't obliged to transfer the assets because it was impossible to obtain the investment-grade rating for those notes.
The government has shrewdly gauged investors' greed but overlooked their fear: that the projects will be mired in expensive delays, that the government will change the rules, or that an investment-grade rating will remain beyond reach.
ECONOMIST: Lower inflation has done wonders for finance and industry
On September 9th, Hankook Tyre, a tyre maker with an investment-grade rating, issued 45 billion won-worth of three-year bonds at some 40 basis points (hundredths of a percentage point) above the average three-year bond yield in the secondary market.
General Motors ' financing arm has a buyer but not a coveted investment-grade credit rating.
Moody's has a Baa3, or the lowest investment-grade, rating on India with a "stable" outlook.
Brazil now boasts an investment grade sovereign debt rating, which it gained in 2008.
FORBES: Brazilian Funding Needs Provide Private Equity Opportunity
Turkey received an investment-grade credit rating from Fitch Ratings last November for the first time since 1994.
The government is convinced that Brazil is on the verge of an investment-grade credit rating and economic growth of 5%.
Two ratings agencies have warned that Hungary could lose its investment-grade credit rating due to its weak growth outlook and unpredictable policy track.
Offsetting that: Earnings will disappoint for a while, and capital will remain scarce for any corporation with less than an investment-grade credit rating.
应用推荐