Moody's lifts Waste Management view to positive

Moody's Investors Service said it changed the outlook of Waste Management, Inc. and subsidiaries to positive from stable.

The agency also said it affirmed its Baa3 senior unsecured ratings.

The positive outlook reflects a view that economic improvement should raise the earnings and cash flow of the company, helping it to gradually improve leverage and interest coverage metrics, Moody's said.

Waste volumes contracted during the recession and recovery has lagged, the agency said, in part because of persistently high unemployment levels and weak construction activity which has precluded recovery of construction and demolition waste streams.

The continuation of economic growth that began in 2010, along with the company's ongoing focus on innovation, should give rise to new revenue opportunities and improving credit metrics across the 2011 to 2012 period, Moody's said.

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