S&P: More Chemical Firms Face Credit Downgrades Even as Profits Climb

Standard & Poor’s (New York) says it has begun to adopt “a more cautious” view of chemical industry prospects for the year ahead due to factors including an expected slowdown in GDP, weakness in the housing market, and higher oil prices. Credit downgrades have outpaced upgrades so far this year, and credit quality is likely to remain “slightly negative” through the remainder of 2007 and into 2008, S&P says. Acquisitions and “actions to increase shareholder rewards” are likely to be the drivers for negative credit...

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