Abstract: Europe's major economies have now entered a recession. Weaker demand and poor financing conditions resulted in a contraction of business investments in the last months of 2008, which deepened the downturn across the continent. In this context of lower investor confidence and a global credit squeeze, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services' analytical focus is more than ever on liquidity. This is particularly significant when it comes to the real estate sector, which has high capital intensity and generally high leverage. In the coming quarters, negative rating actions--including downgrades, outlook revisions and CreditWatch placements--are more likely, mainly driven by the companies' liquidity positions and financial flexibility. Although we do not expect cash flow generation from rental activities to be down much

Brief Excerpt: RESEARCH Ratings Definitions Industry Report Card: Despite Solid Portfolios And Balance Sheets, European Real Estate Companies Are Under Increasing Ratings Pressure Publication date: 12-Jan-2009 Primary Credit Analyst: Pierre Georges,...

Report Type: Commentary
Sector: Global Issuers, Structured Finance
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 S&P Credit Research
S&P Credit Research provides analysis on issuers and debt obligations of corporations, states and municipalities, financial institutions, insurance companies and sovereign governments. S&P also offers insight into the credit risk of structured finance deals, providing an independent view of credit risk associated with a growing array of debt-securitized instruments.