Moody's: ECB's Quantative Easing unable to stop decline in February's high yield issuance

Mar 17, 2015 13:27 pm UTC| Research & Analysis

High-yield bond volumes of $6 billion were down from $16 billion in January, and $11 billion in February 2014 as larger MA-driven activity subsided, despite the announcement of quantitative easing in Europe, says Moodys...

Moody's: Global spec-grade corporate default rate rises slightly in February

Mar 17, 2015 12:45 pm UTC| Research & Analysis

Moodys trailing 12-month global speculative-grade default rate closed at 2.3% in February 2015, up from Januarys revised rate of 2.1%. The latest reading came in close to the rating agencys year-ago prediction of...

Fitch: Strengthening Recovery in Advanced Economies

Mar 17, 2015 11:56 am UTC| Research & Analysis

Fitch Ratings says in its latest Global Economic Outlook (GEO) that world GDP growth will strengthen to 2.7% in 2015 and 3.0% 2016, up from 2.5% in 2014, driven by recovery in major advanced economies (MAE). Growth will...

Moody's: Germany's strong economy and fiscal record support credit profile

Mar 17, 2015 09:08 am UTC| Research & Analysis

Germanys large, strong and competitive economy underpins its Aaa stable rating and ensures low funding costs. Its shrinking workforce, ageing population and structural reforms pose key long-term credit challenges, Moodys...

BoJ to step-up easing in H2 2015

Mar 17, 2015 09:07 am UTC| Research & Analysis

The Bank of Japan kept its massive stimulus programmeunchanged on Tuesday by 8 to 1 votedespite falling inflation rate, suggesting that it still believes that prices will resume their strength later in the year, without...

Moody's: Stable performance of New Zealand covered bonds in Q4 2014

Mar 17, 2015 05:31 am UTC| Research & Analysis

Moodys Investors Service says that New Zealand covered bond programmes continued their stable performance during Q4 2014 supported by the stable Aaa rating of the New Zealand sovereign, the stable financial profiles of the...

Fitch: Corporate Downgrades Trailed Upgrades in 2014

Mar 16, 2015 18:14 pm UTC| Research & Analysis

Fitch Ratings global corporate finance ratings exhibited moderate rating activity despite uneven economic growth. Downgrades trailed upgrades for the first time since 2010, albeit at a narrow margin of 0.9 to 1.The share...