Why Haven Substantially Higher Crude Oil Prices Depressed Credit Quality For Chemical Companies?
By Kyle Loughlin, New York Although the cost of energy-based raw materials is important to many segments of the U.S.-based chemical industry, most industry participants have been reasonably successful in managing higher costs during the recent upturn in the business cycle. Standard & Poor’s Raises Its Pricing Assumptions Used For Oil & Gas Company Ratings-Again By Ben Tsocanos, New York Standard & Poor’s plans to review ratings on companies in the oil and gas sector to assess the effect of the increase in its price assumptions on ratings. Previous increases in the price assumptions have encouraged the trend of upgrades outpacing downgrades by a ratio of two to one so far this year.
