StarTribune.com
localbrfs072608

Home | Business

Northwest Airlines' debt downgraded

Last update: July 25, 2008 - 8:52 PM

Northwest Airlines' debt downgraded

Standard & Poor's downgraded the debt of Northwest Airlines and other large airlines Friday, saying high fuel prices are likely to cause heavy losses this year. S&P airline analyst Philip Baggaley said that in general, carriers face "perhaps a bit greater risk of liquidation," although he quickly added, "We think the airlines we've reviewed here are large and viable airlines." He lowered Northwest's long-term corporate credit rating one notch further into junk, to "B" from "B+," with a negative outlook. He also lowered ratings on American Airlines and United Airlines and their parent companies, AMR Corp. and UAL Corp.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Recent Business stories

QLT to pay $20 million to Mass. General Hospital to settle royalties lawsuit over Visudyne - July 25, 2008
QLT to pay $20 million to Mass. General Hospital to settle royalties lawsuit over Visudyne - Canadian biotechnology company QLT Inc. said Wednesday it will pay Massachusetts General Hospital $20 million to settle a lawsuit over product royalties. More

Comment on this story   |   Be the first to comment   |  Hide reader comments

Subscribe

Blog: Patent Pending

Lights out at U energy conference. Irony police notified.

Just as Lawrence Kazmerski, a top official at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, was about to give the keynote address at the University of Minnesota's annual E3 conference at the RiverCentre in St. Paul, the lights went out, bathing the audience in darkness and a deep sense of irony.

Recent posts