Puerto Rico’s Junk Grade Shows S&P Catching Up With Market
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Standard & Poor’s cut Puerto Rico to junk yesterday, catching up with investors in the $3.7 trillion municipal market who have viewed the island as speculative grade for months. Some commonwealth debt gained today.
S&P lowered the island’s general obligations one step to BB+ from BBB- and kept them on watch with negative implications, signaling the potential for further cuts, according to a statement from the New York-based company. S&P cited the U.S. commonwealth’s limited ability to raise funds in the capital markets.