The outlook for the US credit grade is now negative for both firms.
Two international ratings agencies have downgraded the country's credit grade from the top level AAA, warning about the government's fiscal policies.
This simply means it makes more sense to walk away and take a hit on the credit grade than to pay for something that is not worth the value anymore.
General Motors ' financing arm has a buyer but not a coveted investment-grade credit rating.
Because the U.S. utility sector is so capital intensive, it must maintain investment-grade credit ratings.
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Turkey received an investment-grade credit rating from Fitch Ratings last November for the first time since 1994.
Spreads on both investment-grade credit-default swaps (insurance against bond default) and on high-yield indices have increased sharply.
General Motors got some good news Friday: its first investment grade credit rating since going bankrupt in 2009.
The government is convinced that Brazil is on the verge of an investment-grade credit rating and economic growth of 5%.
The company owns 18 million square feet of prime office buildings that are 98% occupied, mostly by corporations with investment-grade credit ratings.
Two ratings agencies have warned that Hungary could lose its investment-grade credit rating due to its weak growth outlook and unpredictable policy track.
This means they can raise capital from private lenders: 31% of the bank's middle-income lending now goes to countries with investment-grade credit ratings.
Offsetting that: Earnings will disappoint for a while, and capital will remain scarce for any corporation with less than an investment-grade credit rating.
Generating yield substantially above 3% in the fixed-income world requires a foray into the lower levels of investment grade credit or junk bonds.
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Assess how far you can go into lower grade credit, which will carry relatively higher yields and help add to your nest egg.
The ratings companies have made it clear that Spain must meet all of its austerity targets if it is to retain investment-grade credit ratings.
Now, you must work backward to solve the loss of that rule-of-thumb: To earn at those same rate today, you will need more stocks and possibly a venture into lower-grade credit.
For fixed income investors who like this space due to higher yield investment grade credit, a word to the wise: a revamp of capital flows amid an economic slowdown may not be welcome by policymakers.
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Nevertheless, in the medium term the firm will probably have to issue more long-term debt to finance itself (it hopes to gain an investment-grade credit rating this year) and raise more equity, perhaps by listing.
We have a system that administers grade-level assessments and gives no credit to students who start well below grade level and make amazing progress or to those who are able to race ahead.
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).
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The Philippines has been given an investment grade from a credit ratings agency for the first time, a move expected to boost investment.
In fact, a recent survey found that 42 percent of Americans would prefer a letter grade associated with a credit score rather than the traditional three-digit number.
If its credit ratings should sink below investment grade, GMAC's unsecured bonds would become off-limits to many institutional investors, making it even harder for GMAC to borrow money affordably.
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.
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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.
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The Philippines, whose sovereign credit rating was upgraded to investment grade by two ratings 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
The expected credit risk premium over inflation from investment-grade securities is also expected to remain stable.
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In the Seventies and Eighties, when credit was becoming increasingly available to nonivestment-grade companies, the economy added 30 million jobs.
Most of the credit goes to my Dad, the seventh grade dropout who quit school to work at the sawmill.
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