Moody's may downgrade Black & Decker

Moody's Investors Service said it placed Black & Decker Corp.'s Baa2 senior unsecured and Prime-2 commercial paper ratings under review for possible downgrade.

The review results from growing risks presented by a protracted decline in consumer and industrial demand for Black & Decker's power tools, hardware and fastening systems. The agency said household demand remains weak, while industrial demand for tools, which had held up reasonably well through most of 2008, is facing mounting weakness due to declining construction and manufacturing activity.

The review will focus on the company's ability to mitigate risks associated with revenue declines and pension funding requirements with cost cuts, capital conservation and debt reduction the company's ability to maintain a healthy liquidity profile through a range of economic scenarios, Moody's said.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.