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Credit Market Research

Our credit market research encompasses ratings performance indicators (including upgrades and downgrades, defaults, outlook changes, weakest links, rising stars, and fallen angels) alongside default and issuance forecasts and financing conditions coverage.


Credit Research & Insights

We deliver forward-looking, actionable insights on market-moving trends and their effects on credit—leveraging our proprietary data, analytical expertise, and cross-discipline approach. Our research includes ratings analyses, risk assessments, and credit market forecasts.


This Week In Credit

Two Sectors Dominate Downgrades

The past week saw equal numbers of upgrades and downgrades, with the latter coming primarily from just two sectors: media and entertainment, and chemicals, packaging, and environmental services. Downgrades included one fallen angel, chemicals producer OCI N.V., and one new risky credit, gaming group Affinity Interactive.

All but one of the upgrades involved speculative-grade issuers, which were split across five sectors. Those upgrades included two U.S.-based rising stars, transportation group Delta Air Lines Inc., and utility System Energy Resources Inc. (Entergy Corp).

Last week's only default was U.S.-based capital goods issuer Congruex Group LLC, which defaulted as a result of a distressed exchange. Total defaults for the year to Dec.5 now stand at 136.

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This Month In Credit

Conflicting Signals

Investment-grade downgrades rose to 11 in October, surpassing nine in all of the third quarter, driven by U.S. office REITs and actions related to the downgrade of the Israel sovereign.

The speculative-grade outlook is improving. Negative bias for issuers 'B-' and below has fallen in nine of the last 10 months and is down nearly six percentage points compared with this time last year. Weakest links continued to fall in October, although 71% were due to defaults or rating withdrawals.

U.S. defaults reached 11--their highest monthly count since May 2023. S&P Global Ratings Credit Research & Insights expects the U.S. and European trailing-12-month speculative-grade corporate default rates will decline slightly to 3.25% and 4.25%, respectively, by September 2025.

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Go Deeper Into Weekly & Monthly Credit Trends

Make decisions with conviction with a short- and longer-term perspective on current ratings trends. This Week In Credit is a data-driven research snapshot that delivers forward-looking, actionable insights on market-moving credit trends every Monday. On a monthly basis, This Month In Credit provides a comprehensive overview of weakest links, distressed debt, rising stars, and fallen angels, among other credit indicators.


Market Pricing


Confronting Credit Headwinds

In the near term, we expect credit pressures to intensify—with a world order that's increasingly fragmented and fragile.



Ratings Performance

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What We're Watching

S&P Global Ratings expects additional credit deterioration in 2024, largely at the lower end of the ratings scale. An environment of increasingly rapid change requires financial market participants to adapt their playbooks.



Credit Conditions

Our regional and global Credit Conditions Committees—and the research publications we produce—provide financial market participants around the world with an essential resource for identifying and understanding prevailing and potential credit risks.


Our People