By CaixaBank research team, in Barcelona | The worsening climate in peripheral Europe has affected the corporate bond markets. Whereas, during the previous months, this market stood out for its remarkable ability to resist the adversities of the euro area crisis (from the point of view of issuances and the extent of capital flows), in May investor mood and the issuance of corporate bonds had been fully infected. In addition,…
Ouch. The US corporate sector accumulates 171 credit downgrades in the first quarter, the highest since the 2009. In the balance of revisions (upward/downward), the ratio is 0.69, far from the highs of 2011 when for each rating cut down there were two ratings changing upwards. In the sectoral breakdown, three areas stand out as having a low rate of upward/downward revisions: telecommunications, financials and non-cyclical consumption. In the opposite side, the…
NEW YORK | “Corporations are people, my friend… of course they are. Everything corporations earn ultimately goes to the people. Where do you think it goes? Whose pockets? Whose pockets? People’s pockets. Human beings my friend.” That speech by GOP candidate Mitt Romney stirred a huge debate about the role of corporations in the US society. The Occupy Wall Street movement highly distrusted firms. Were they exaggerating? Do companies need…