Global credit quality showed significant improvement during the final quarter of 2004 as credit rating upgrades outnumbered downgrades by nearly two to one, Moody's Investors Service says in its latest quarterly update on rating actions, reviews and outlooks. In all, there were roughly 1.9 upgrades for every downgrade globally during the fourth quarter, an increase from roughly 1.4 upgrades per downgrade in the previous quarter, Moody's says.
January 25, 2005