GE Ratings Cut: Only 5 AAA Industrials Left
Standard & Poor's downgraded General Electric*, lowering its rating by one notch to AA-plus with a stable outlook, down from the top-tier, AAA credit rating it enjoyed. S&P cited the credit profile of the conglomerate's GE Capital arm. Following are some fascinating if sobering facts about GE and other big stocks....
Per Standard & Poor's:
GE was AAA rated since 1956.
(Recall that the recent dividend cut was the first time that happened since 1938.)
That leaves only five U.S. industrial companies remaining now with triple-A ratings. (That excludes financials, e.g., Berkshire Hathaway , and multinationals, e.g., Toyota Motor .)
The five survivors:
- ADP
- Exxon Mobil
- Johnson & Johnson
- Pfizer
- Microsoft
...and of these 5... only Pfizer is on credit watch/negative since 1/26/09
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- Dow 30 Stocks at a Glance
- GE Gets Credit Rating Cut By S&P To AA Plus
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Disclosures:
*General Electric is the corporate parent of CNBC.
