Fiat/Chrysler Revisited

MUMBAI: Ratings agency Fitch Ratings has downgraded Lodha Developers' Long-Term Issuer Default Rating to 'B' from 'B+'. Fitch has also downgraded the long-term rating on Lodha's $ 200 million senior unsecured notes due in 2020 to 'B' from 'B+'. The Outlook is Negative, the ratings agency said in a statement. This is the second downgrade the realty major has received in the last two months. In May, Moody's Investor Services also downgraded Lodha on weaker-than-expected operating performance.

Moody\'s Investors Service has downgraded one of the leaders of iron mining, Vale SA (ADR) (NYSE:VALE) as it does not expect commodity prices to recover before 2017. The ratings agency has lowered its credit rating on Vale from “Baa2” to “Baa3”. The new rating is just one notch above a speculative grade or junk territory. The outlook of the company remains negative at Moody’s. After the downgrade, the stock is down by 3.98% at $3.14 in early market-hours today.

Ratings agency Fitch on Tuesday said it was downgrading Italian auto giant Fiat's credit rating by one notch to BB from BB+, saying there were potential "risks" in its alliance with Chrysler.The US agency also said it was turning its outlook on the company to negative -- an indication of a possible further downgrade in the medium term.Emmanuel Bulle, senior director at Fitch's European corporates group, in a statement linked the rating action to Fiat's merger with the US auto group.

With the USDJPY's ascent to 125, 150 and higher having seemingly stalled just under 120, with concerns that the BOJ may not monetize more than 100% of its net debt issuance suddenly surfacing, the BOJ and the Nikkei would take any help they could get. They got just that an hour ago when Fitch downgraded Japan's credit rating from A+ to A, citing lack of sufficient structural fiscal measures in FY15 budget to replace deferred consumption tax increase. 

Fitch Ratings downgraded the outlook rating on Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG) from Stable to Negative on Wednesday. The credit rating company has attributed the downward revision in outlook rating to the continuing drop in crude oil price that will have an adverse impact on demand of the offshore rig services offered by oil-producing entities.

With Japan's public debt about to hit 240% of GDP, Fitch Downgrades Japan's Sovereign Rating The ratings agency Fitch on Tuesday lowered its assessment of Japan’s sovereign credit to A+, an investment grade just above the likes of Spain and Italy, and criticized Tokyo for not doing more to pare down its burgeoning debt.

The France-based ratings agency has just joined China's Dagong, and US Moody's by Fitch-slapping Italy with a BBB ratings handle. Citing four main reasons: election results which and 'non-conducive' for further structural reforms, deeper than expected recession, greater than expected budget deficits, and a weak government less able to respond to shocks. But apart from all that, as we noted earlier, Italian stocks and bonds are bid.   Via Fitch: