Streetbeat News

Credit Ratings

GS

TLT

Fitch Ratings has stated that a potential U.S. government shutdown following the removal of U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy as House speaker will not impact the nation's credit rating. This comes after Fitch downgraded the U.S.'s credit rating from AAA to AA+ in August due to a steady deterioration in governance standards. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs analysts have suggested that the political development may increase the chances of a shutdown. The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NASDAQ:TLT) has fallen over 10% since early August in response to Fitch's rating action.

Portfolio Pulse from Piero Cingari

October 04, 2023 | 8:29 pm

SPY

A Fitch analyst has stated that a U.S. government shutdown will not affect the U.S. AA+ Stable Sovereign Rating, according to Reuters.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

October 04, 2023 | 7:12 pm

WE

S&P Global Ratings has stated that it does not believe a default is inevitable for WeWork in the next six months, according to Reuters.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

October 04, 2023 | 1:42 pm

SPY

USO

Fitch Ratings agency predicts a small oil-market deficit in Q3 and Q4, according to Reuters. This could potentially impact the prices of oil-related ETFs such as SPY and USO.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

October 03, 2023 | 1:14 pm

NSC

BofA Securities analyst Ken Hoexter downgraded Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) from Buy to Neutral and lowered the price target from $266 to $215 due to concerns over data integrity and operational setbacks. The company experienced a data center outage on Sept 29, which is expected to impact operations over the next two weeks. This follows a similar outage in August. The analyst also lowered FY 23/’24/’25 EPS estimate 6%/7%/6%, to $11.90/$13.00 /$14.50, from $12.60/$14.00/$15.45.

Portfolio Pulse from Shivani Kumaresan

October 02, 2023 | 5:30 pm

FHN

First Horizon has announced the results of its 2023 company-run stress test, demonstrating resilience and a strong capital position. The company's minimum common equity tier 1 capital ratio was 8.7%, reflecting an additional $4 billion of pre-tax loss absorption capacity beyond the required regulatory minimums. The company's loan portfolio stressed loss rate was 2.3%, below the Federal Reserve-published median CCAR-bank result.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

September 29, 2023 | 1:10 pm

BAC

SPY

Bank of America's CEO has stated that commercial credit quality remains strong, despite a slowdown in consumer spending growth compared to the previous year. He also predicted that U.S. interest rates are likely to remain high for an extended period.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

September 27, 2023 | 4:12 pm

C

Citigroup is reportedly preparing a $5 billion bond offering, marking its first such deal in four years, according to sources cited by Market Watch.

Portfolio Pulse from Charles Gross

September 27, 2023 | 11:52 am

JPM

Economist Peter Schiff predicts a surge in 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rates to 9% by year-end, which could lead to a ballooning of the Federal Reserve's balance sheet due to insolvent banks offloading their mortgage-backed securities onto the Fed. This comes amidst concerns over rising interest rates and yields. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s CEO, Jamie Dimon, has warned that a rise in Federal Reserve benchmark interest rates to 7% could lead to unprecedented financial stress.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Neuro

September 27, 2023 | 1:12 am

ITA

LDOS

LMT

Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) shares have seen a decline of approximately 9% month-to-date due to the looming risk of a U.S. government shutdown. Moody’s Investors Service warned that a shutdown could negatively impact defense service contractors, potentially affecting liquidity. However, it also noted that major prime contractors like Lockheed Martin and Leidos Holdings, Inc. (LDOS) have strong capabilities to manage payment delays effectively. The iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) also registered a 9% decline.

Portfolio Pulse from Piero Cingari

September 26, 2023 | 9:01 pm