Halister News

(Bloomberg) -- Here’s a roundup of Indian co. debt-rating changes.

• To get this story sent to your inbox real-time, run NI INRATINGS, click on Display & Edit, then Set Alert Delivery

DOWNGRADES

• Ampa Housing Development
  • Long-term bank facilities cut to BB from BBB- at Crisil
  • Cites tightly matched cash accruals as compared to its repayment obligations
• Megha Granules
  • LT bank facilities cut to D from B at Crisil
  • Cites delays in meeting debt obligations
• NCC Urban Infrastructure
  • LT bank facilities cut to B+ from BB- at Crisil
  • Cites increasing pressure on cash flow due to low residential project sales
• RDS Project
  • LT bank facilities cut to BBB- from BBB at Crisil
  • Cites stretch in working capital cycle coupled with pressure on liquidity
• Shri Hari Forging
  • LT bank facilities cut to D from B at Crisil
  • Cites delay in repayment of term debt due to weak liquidity
• Texmaco Hi-Tech
  • LT bank facilities cut to BBB- from BBB at Crisil
  • Cites weakening of credit risk profile following a delay in achieving break-even

UPGRADES

• KTL
  • LT bank facilities raised to BBB- from BB+ at Crisil
  • Cites healthy business risk profile
• R.B.Agarwalla
  • LT bank facilities raised to BBB- from BB+ at Crisil
  • Cites increased geographical, product diversification
• Seshaasai Business Forms
  • LT bank facilities raised to BBB+ from BBB at Crisil
  • Cites healthy demand prospects for security solutions

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of Asian steelmakers such as Posco and Hyundai Steel should rise, as upside catalysts have yet to be reflected in prices, Nomura analysts including Cindy Park and Yuji Matsumoto say in a note.

• Nomura prefers Korean steel stocks to those in Japan; says top buy is Posco, raising PT to 400,000 won vs 360,000 won; Hyundai Steel upgraded to buy from neutral, PT raised to 75,000 won vs 66,000 won
  • Other buys include Korea Zinc and Mitsui Mining & Smelting
  • Neutral on Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal, JFE Holdings and Hitachi Metals
• Catalyst for sector is news of further steel capacity cuts in China
  • China’s measures to reduce excess capacity have helped Asian steel profitability and improved global utilization to 68% vs 65% in 2015; utilization is expected to reach 71% in 2020
  • China is world’s largest steelmaker with 50% of global supply
• Other catalysts are investments in infrastructure projects that could boost steel demand by up to 3.2% y/y in 2017-18, U.S. infrastructure policy and environmental compliance tightening further in China

To contact the reporter on this story: Kyunghee Park in Singapore at kpark3@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Divya Balji at dbalji1@bloomberg.net Kurt Schussler

(Bloomberg) -- Success of co.’s hit smartphone game Another Eden has increased possibility that earnings could re-enter a growth phase, Credit Suisse analyst Keiichi Yoneshima writes in a note dated May 31.

• Co. has begun to establish a business base to expand profits and cash flow, and help more aggressive marketing
• Also focusing on data for SINoALICE, co.’s jointly developed game title due for release on June 6
• Upgrades to neutral from underperform; more than doubles PT to 970 yen from 480 yen
• Shares rise as much as 6.1% to highest since June 2014; volume ~96% of 3-month full-day avg
• 4 buys, 5 holds, 4 sells; avg PT 826 yen: Bloomberg data

To contact the reporter on this story: Yuko Takeo in Tokyo at ytakeo2@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Vivek Shankar at vshankar3@bloomberg.net Jonathan Annells

(Bloomberg) -- Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam made proposal to buy Charter Communications in recent months, New York Post reports, citing three unidentified people familiar.

• Offer valued at between $350-$400/share: report cites two people
  • Charter rejected offer because it was too low; wasn’t ready to sell
• Verizon also recently expressed interest in Sirius XM; didn’t get as far as a bid
• Verizon declined comment: NYP
• NOTE: CHTR last closed at $345.55; mkt cap $106.4b

--MICHAEL SIN

--MICHAEL SIN

(Bloomberg) -- Australia is scheduled to release April retail sales data and 1Q private capital expenditure at 11:30am local time.

• April retail sales m/m est. 0.3% vs prev. -0.1%
• 1Q private capital expenditure est. 0.5% vs prev. -2.1%

To contact the reporter on this story: Patricia Lui in Singapore at plui4@bloomberg.net