Rising star potential stalled to lowest level in five years, S&P says

By Jennifer Chiou

New York, June 24 - The continuous decline in the number of issuers positioned to migrate up the credit spectrum since the beginning of the year has brought the tally to 12 issuers in June, according to a report from Standard & Poor's.

The agency said that this is the fewest number of potential rising stars since the previous low of 11 issuers in March 2003.

Meanwhile, the count of issuers about to cross over in the opposite direction - potential fallen angels - is currently elevated at 44 issuers, the report noted.

"Of those positioned to ascend to investment grade, 50% are from emerging market countries, including Chile, Russia, Hong Kong, and Peru," Diane Vazza, head of S&P's global fixed-income research group, said in the report.

"Growth there is expected as world financial assets continue to flow into these markets."

This month, U.S.-based insurance company and S&P 500 constituent Unum Group is the largest potential rising star, set to ascend to investment grade with about $3.4 billion in rated debt.

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