Fallen angels up 50% since February, S&P says

By Jennifer Chiou

New York, April 14 - Globally, 38 issuers with rated debt totaling $82.96 billion are identified as potential fallen angels, according to a report by Standard & Poor's.

The report noted that says that this total is one fewer than the annual average count of 39 potential fallen angels in 2007.

"The year-to-date count of fallen angels has surpassed that of last year, with five more entities moving to speculative-grade territory since our last report," Diane Vazza, head of S&P's global fixed-income research group, said in a written statement.

"This pushes our total for the year to date to 10 entities, affecting rated debt worth $16.2 billion, compared with eight out of 42 fallen angels in the first quarter of last year."

Based on rated-debt volume, the U.S.-based third largest wireless carrier and an S&P 500 constituent, Sprint Nextel Corp., is the largest potential fallen angel, with more than $24.25 billion in rated debt, the report added.

Fallen angels are issuers downgraded to speculative grade, BB+ and lower, from investment grade, BBB- and higher.

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