...Upgrades Continue to Outnumber Downgrades: During 2Q15 and for the fifth straight quarter, U.S. public finance rating upgrades outnumbered downgrades. There were 36 upgrades across all U.S. public finance sectors compared to 18 downgrades. The number of upgrades increased from 33 in 1Q15. The number of downgrades (20) also decreased from the prior quarter. Par Amount for Downgrades Exceeded Upgrades: Fitch Ratings downgraded 18 credits, which represented approximately 1.9% of all rating actions and $47.5 billion in par value. However, excluding Puerto Rico credits, the par value for upgrades would have slightly exceeded downgrades. The 36 credit upgrades represented 3.9% of all rating actions and $11.8 billion in par value. Major Downgrade Again Puerto Rico: Roughly $36.6 billion of Puerto Rico's debt was downgraded to `CC', the second downgrade this year. The downgrade of Puerto Rico's debt represented 77% of all downgrades by par amount for this quarter Better Finances Factor in Major...
