Fiat/Chrysler Revisited

A recent article in the New York Times noted the first fruits of the Chrysler and Fiat merger (see A Merger Once Scoffed At Bears Fruit in Detroit and Will the Dodge Dart be a high-caliber replacement?).

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.

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:

A few days ago I saw a report that the IMF was breaking off negotiations with Hungary regarding a debt package. I knew what was next: a weakening currency and more downgrades. The downgrades came in spades. Bloomberg reports Hungary Hit by Second Debt Downgrade to Junk on Orban’s Policies