Читать книгу The Sterling Bonds and Fixed Income Handbook - Mark Glowrey - Страница 57

Yes, indeed they can. Although the ratings that investors follow are described as long term ratings by the two main agencies, they can swing around quite quickly as perceptions change. An example of this was the sovereign state of South Korea, downgraded from a comfortable AA- to a worrying BBB- in the late 90s. Another even more dramatic example is Iceland, which was until quite recently rated AAA. This proved to be somewhat optimistic given the small size of the country and the ambitious activity of its bankers. It is now rated BBB-, the lowest possible investment grade rating.

Corporate bonds are even more subject to change as their issuers may be impacted by adverse trading conditions. Leveraged takeovers, in particular, can have sudden and disastrous impact on credit ratings.