Ratings

Spotlight
Big Changes In Standard & Poor's Rating Criteria	Standard & Poor's Ratings Services considers the recent changes in our criteria for rating collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) and U.S. residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) to be significant. Overall, their effect should be to make it more difficult for securities in the sectors that have displayed poor credit performance during the current financial crisis to receive high ratings. The changes are designed to enhance the comparability of ratings on those securities with ratings on credits in other sectors. Read
Update To Global Methodologies And Assumptions For Corporate Cash Flow And Synthetic CDOs	Standard & Poor's Ratings Services is updating its methodologies and assumptions for rating corporate cash flow and synthetic collateralized debt obligations (CDOs). This update follows our request for comment (RFC), titled "Update To Global Methodologies And Assumptions For Corporate Cash Flow CDO And Synthetic CDO Ratings," published March 18, 2009. This represents a significant recalibration of our CDO criteria and is intended to enhance the comparability of CDO ratings with ratings in other sectors, such as corporates, municipals, sovereigns, and other areas of structured finance (see "Understanding Standard & Poor's Rating Definitions," published June 3, 2009). Read
Q&A: Despite Signs Of A U.S. Economic Trough, Borrowers Will Face Difficulties Into 2010	In a series of questions and answers, Diane Vazza, managing director of Standard & Poor's Global Fixed Income Research, discusses the near-term outlook for U.S. corporate borrowers and bond issuance, and the refinancing risk that many of these borrowers face. We plan to continue these Q&A sessions on a monthly basis, in which she will comment on recent trends in, and near-term outlooks for, the global-fixed income space. Read
Standard & Poor's Commitment To Reform: Restoring Confidence In The Credit Markets	The recent global financial crisis has proven beyond doubt that a new course of action is required. Here at Standard & Poor's, our business is no exception. While the vast majority of the $32 trillion of securities that we rate performed as anticipated, the performance of our ratings in the area of residential mortgage-related securities was a major disappointment. We have learned important lessons from this experience, and we have made changes to our business. Read
S&P Market Derived Signals White Paper	Standard & Poor’s is introducing the new market derived signal (MDS) measurement. MDS is based upon credit default swap spreads and augmented using proprietary modeling techniques that adjust the model for certain variables. MDS is intended to capture the market sentiment regarding a company’s perceived credit risk. It is not based on our rating criteria and therefore is not a surrogate for Standard & Poor’s issuer ratings that assess a company's creditworthiness. The attached White Paper explains in depth how S&P determines the MDS, including all calculations and benchmarks. Read
PODCAST: Deleveraging Will Propel Downgrades And Default Rates Beyond Historical Averages (Dianne Vazza)	Financial history certifies that all debt-fueled booms inevitably entail harsh consequences, and this time is no different. Diane Vazza, head of Standard & Poor's Global Fixed Income Research, dives into the ratings-related metrics of default frequencies, extreme multi-notch downgrades, fallen angel activity, and other rating transitions. She also discusses her key observations in this timely podcast. Listen
WEBCAST: Mixed Housing News (Beth Ann Bovino)	The mixed economic news weighed on markets this week, with existing-home sales surprising to the upside. Still, disappointing new-home sales and housing starts increased market concerns that housing hasn’t reached the bottom, and improvements may be short-lived. However, the National Association of Realtors’ report on Friday suggested that some of those concerns may be premature Watch

Ratings News & Commentary
Transition Study: Structured Finance Rating Transition And Default Update As Of Oct. 30, 2009	2009-11-06 17:52:32
Report From ABS East 2009: Securitization Begins To Move Past The Fear	2009-11-06 17:26:30
Recovery Report: Aeroflex Inc.'s Recovery Rating Profile	2009-11-06 17:07:02
Recovery Report: SW Acquisition Co.'s Recovery Rating Profile	2009-11-06 16:42:47
View all S&P Ratings News & Commentary

Ratings Actions
Ratings On University Of Medicine & Dentistry Of New Jersey Raised To 'BBB+'	2009-11-06 18:26:17
S&PCORRECT: New York State Mortgage Agency $100 Million NYHELPs Bonds 2009 Series A Assigned Preliminary 'A+' Rating	2009-11-06 17:50:46
Long Beach Airport, CA's Revenue Bonds Assigned 'BBB' Rating On High Carrier Concentration	2009-11-06 17:47:48
New York State Mortgage Agency Agency's $100 Million NYHELPs Bonds 2009 Series A Assigned Preliminary 'A+' Rating	2009-11-06 17:17:57
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Presale Credit Reports
Presale: New York State Mortgage Agency - 2009 Series A	2009-11-06 17:13:26
Presale: USAA Auto Owner Trust 2009-2	2009-11-04 15:46:04
Presale: USAA Auto Owner Trust 2009-2	2009-11-04 15:46:04
Presale: Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority - Series 2009-1	2009-11-03 16:13:14
To view all Presale Credit Reports, please visit the individual sector's ratings page, accessible through the left navigation.