Am Rande der Aufmerksamkeit vollziehen sich Kaskaden kleiner Ereignisse. Sie gehen unter im Trubel der allgemeinen Heiterkeit. Doch wir wollen sie erkennen und beim Namen nennen.
El Sheik
New York, October 18, 2001 - Moody’s Investor Service lowered the senior debt rating of Ford Motor Company to A3 from A2… The downgrade of Ford’s rating reflect the erosion in the company’s longer-term competitive position in North America…This weakening in Ford’s competitive position is occurring as the U.S. automobile market is entering a cyclical downturn that could be exacerbated by the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks." Ford, a"Triple A" credit during the seventies, has now seen its credit-rating drop to the lowest level since 1984. Despite widening spreads, the company plans on issuing $7.5 billion of new bonds in what would be a prudent move in the face of an increasingly hostile environment.
"New York, October 16, 2001 - Moody’s Investor Service placed all the long term debt obligations of Enron on review for downgrade following the announcement by Enron of significant write-downs and charges, reflecting substantially reduced valuations in several of its businesses. These actions affect Enron’s broadband operations, its merchant portfolio and the Azurix water company holdings…Enron is one of the world’s largest energy concerns with approximately $63.4 billion in energy assets." Enron took a $1.01 billion after-tax charge during the third-quarter. There appears to be an additional $1.2 billion charge against equity that the company has thus far refused to adequately explain.
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