Murray Energy up on Moody’s, court ruling; California Resources ticks up with oil; Rite Aid down

By Colin Hanner

Chicago, June 30 – The distressed debt market was at a near-standstill on Friday, market sources said, with “almost nothing” trading before what many in the financial sector are treating as a four-day Independence Day holiday.

Action was mostly confined to new issues in the high-yield space – VeriSign Inc.’s $550 million 10-year issue, Venator Materials plc’s $375 million eight-year senior notes and Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc.’s $250 million eight-year senior notes among the most notable, a trader said – and distressed issues that were notable on the week carried lower volumes on the day.

St. Clairsville, Ohio-based private coal producer Murray Energy Corp. saw its bonds rise on Friday. The company saw its ratings upgraded by Moody’s Investors Service – but saw adverse action by a federal appeals court which overturned a decision by a lower court that had forced the Environmental Protection Agency to report on how regulations impacted the coal industry. Murray was the driver behind having the study carried out.

Friday capped the week of five-straight sessions of gains for oil, with weekly data from Baker Hughes showing a decrease in active oil rigs for the first time in six months.

Rite Aid Corp., which was higher on Thursday after Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. announced it would buy half of Rite Aid stores for more than $5 billion, traded slightly lower in one of its more notable issues from a day prior.

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