...- The delta variant of the coronavirus has brought fresh uncertainty into the pandemic's trajectory, especially given China's zero tolerance COVID-19 policy. We now forecast gross gaming revenues in Macau will still be only 60%-70% of 2019 levels in 2022, and a full recovery may only happen in 2023. - We forecast Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd. (MLCO)'s leverage (debt-to-EBITDA ratio) will remain elevated at 6.0x-7.0x in 2022, above our previous downgrade trigger of 3.5x. - We lowered our long-term issuer credit ratings on MLCO's operating subsidiaries Melco Resorts (Macau) Ltd. (MRM) to '##-' from '##', and Studio City Co. Ltd. to 'B+' from '##-'. We also lowered by one notch all related issue-level ratings. - The negative outlook on MRM and Studio City mainly reflects the continued stress on MLCO's revenue and cash flow in 2022, and our forecast that the company's leverage will remain above our downgrade threshold through the end of 2022....
