Halister News

(Bloomberg) -- A roundup of debt rating changes of Indian cos. To get this story sent to your inbox in real-time, run NI INRATINGS , click on Display & Edit, then Set Alert Delivery. DOWNGRADES:

• Arcadia Shipping
  • Term loan cut to BB from BBB- at Care Ratings
  • Cites continuous decline in operating profitability

• Garib Nawaz Polymers
  • Long-term loan facilities cut to D from C at Crisil
  • Crisil also cuts G.N. Pet’s LT loan facilities to D from C
  • Cites instances of delay by GN group in meeting debt obligation

• Indian Cane Power
  • Term loan cut to D from BB+ at Care Ratings
  • Cites ongoing delays in debt servicing due to subdued demand for sugar

• Prime Technoplast
  • LT loan facilities cut to D from BB at Crisil
  • Cites ongoing delays in servicing interest dues owing to stretched liquidity

• Shri Rameshwar Sahakari Sakhar
  • LT loan facilities cut to C from B- at Crisil
  • Cites weak liquidity due to continued substantial cash losses and working capital intensive operations

UPGRADES:

• Madhav Alloys
  • LT bank facilities raised to BBB+ from BBB at care ratings
  • Cites improved financial performance in FY15

• Maharashtra Natural Gas
  • LT loan facilities revised to A from A- at Crisil
  • Cites increase in cash accrual driven by volume growth and healthy profitability

• Sami Labs
  • Short-term bank facilities revised to A2 from A3+ at Care Ratings
  • Cites steady sales growth over last 3 yrs with relatively stable profitability margins

(Bloomberg) -- Yield spread between 10-year JGBs and comparable U.S. Treasuries narrows to 177 bps from 179 bps yesterday; see chart here

• Japan sells 10-year bonds at negative yield for first time

(Bloomberg) -- Rupee trades little changed at 144.60 per dollar, fell 0.4% last month; USD/LKR’s MACD above zero and signal

• Sri Lanka rating cut to B+ from BB- by Fitch; cites increased refinancing risks due to high upcoming external debt maturities; outlook negative
• Mirae Asset favors Indonesian bonds over Sri Lankan
• Nation’s Feb. consumer prices rise 2.7% y/y; est. 3.2%
• Sri Lanka sells 5.31 bln rupees of 8.5% 2018 bonds
• Rupee 3-mo. forwards fell 0.29% to 146.80 per dollar yesterday, while 12-mo. contracts declined 0.31% to 152.95
• Pivot point at 144.48; FX pair’s support at 144.04, 143.45, 142.42; resistance at 145.07, 145.51, 146.54
• Yield on 8.5% govt bond due May 2019 rose 13 bps to 10.105% yesterday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg
• Global investors bought net $1.1m in local equities yesterday: exchange data

(Bloomberg) -- Yuan advances even though China’s manufacturing PMI comes in at 49.0 for February, less than median estimate of 49.4; non-manufacturing PMI slips to lowest level since December 2008 at 52.7; strong dollar may trigger crisis in emerging economies: PBOC Deputy Governor Chen; “reasonable” level for forex reserves is about $2t, Economic Information Daily says

• Aussie weakens versus dollar; Australian building approvals decreased 7.5% in January from month earlier, more than median estimate for 3.0% decline; central bank may keep policy rate unchanged today at 2.00%, according to all 27 economists surveyed by Bloomberg
• Yen rises for second day; Japan’s capital spending increased 8.5% in fourth quarter from year earlier, less than forecast 8.7% advance; jobless rate slipped to 3.2% in January from 3.3% in prior month and median estimate
• Kiwi snaps two-day decline; New Zealand’s terms of trade fell 2.0% in fourth quarter after declining revised 3.8% three months earlier
• Won steady; South Korean exports dropped 12.2% in February from year earlier versus estimate for 16.6% decline
• U.S. Treasuries rise, with yield on 10-year bonds sliding 3 bps to 1.707%; data today may show ISM manufacturing in the world’s largest economy rose to 48.5 in February from 48.2 in January, according to Bloomberg survey
• Ringgit gains for fourth day; hundreds of millions of dollars were deposited into Malaysian Prime Minister Najib’s accounts in 2011 and 2012, before $681 million already known in 2013, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing two people it didn’t identify
• Baht steady; Thailand’s consumer prices probably declined 0.51% in February from year earlier after falling 0.51% in January, according to Bloomberg survey
• Rupiah rises; Indonesia’s inflation may have accelerated to 4.36% in February from 4.14% in January, according to a Bloomberg survey before data today

(Bloomberg) -- Today’s auction of 10-year JGBs may have a coupon of 0.1% and negative yields, Makoto Yamashita, chief Japan interest rate strategist at Deutsche Securities, writes in a research note today.

• Says, however, buying from brokers and overseas investors may not be sufficient to offset expected weak demand from banks
• Adds domestic investors are unlikely to take on risk aggressively ahead of March-end of Japan’s fiscal year
• Given supply-demand conditions are tight in JGB market, there’s a risk that yields will whipsaw in short term
• JGB 10-year yield up 0.5 bp to -0.060% in secondary market
• NOTE: 10-year JGB yield traded at -0.04% on Feb. 29 in when- issued transactions, according to Japan Securities Dealers Association data; avg auction yield has never fallen below zero, based on Bloomberg data going back to 1989