Fallen angels tally rises by four, S&P report says

By Jennifer Chiou

New York, Aug. 19 - Standard & Poor's said in a report that four more issuers moved to speculative-grade territory globally since its previous report, pushing the tally for the year to date to 23.

The report added that this affected rated debt of $70.99 billion, already more than 50% of the total debt $131.29 billion affected all of last year.

As of Aug. 12, 43 issuers, higher than both last August's count and the 12-month trailing average, with rated debt worth $73.35 billion have been identified as the potential fallen angels.

On July 10, the agency reported that the count of issuers about to cross over into junk territory was elevated at 43 issuers, while the tally for rising stars stood at a 44-month low of 12 issuers.

"Sectors poised to lead fallen-angel incidence include utilities with seven issuers and the forest products and building materials and consumer products sectors with five issuers each," Diane Vazza, head of S&P's global fixed-income research group, noted in a written statement.

Based on rated debt volume, U.S. transportation company CSX Corp. is the largest potential fallen angel, with $9.14 billion in rated debt.

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

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