Moody’s: Q4 Sets HY Upgrade Record
December 23, 2009
The low number of downgraded companies this quarter points towards a steady economic recovery, according to a report issued today by Moody’s Investors Service.
“The 2009 recession began with a record number of high yield downgrades in the first quarter and will end with a record number of high yield upgrades in the final quarter,” John Lonski, a managing director with Moody’s, said in the report.
Lonski points out that the total of 125 high yield upgrades of this quarter so far already sets a new record. The total is projected to reach 139 upgrades by the end of the year. The final quarter of 2009 will be the first quarter since Q3 2006 that high yield upgrades outnumber downgrades.
The report also notes that high yield downgrades totaled a record 303 in Q1 of this year and that Q4 had only 114 downgrades as of Dec. 22, the lowest total so far since the 90 downgrades of Q4, 2007.
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