...S&P Global Ratings placed the following ratings for the City of Hazelwood, Mo., on CreditWatch with negative implications: + '##' general obligation (GO) rating, + '##-' certificate of participation rating, and + 'A+' annual appropriation capital projects bond long-term rating. The CreditWatch placement reflects our view that there is at least a one-in-two likelihood of a negative rating action within the next 90 days, after we gather additional information surrounding the Hazelwood mayor's recent statement that "a Chapter 9 bankruptcy of Missouri's 26th-largest city and the seventh-largest city in St. Louis County may be inevitable." While the mayor stated this recently in a media outlet, we are still gathering information on the likelihood of the city's pursuing bankruptcy as an official course of action. The GO rating could be capped at '###-' if the city actively considers bankruptcy, and the appropriation ratings could be notched further from the GO rating as a result of such factors...
