Business and Personal Finance Dictionary

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• BOND RATING
  
  Independent agencies, such as Standard & Poor's (S&P) and Moody's Investors Service, assess the likelihood that bond issuers whether corporations or governments are likely to default on their loans or interest payments. Ratings systems differ from one agency to another but usually have at least 10 categories, ranging from a high of AAA (or Aaa) to a low of D. Bonds ranked BBB (or Baa) or higher are considered investment-grade bonds. Rating a bond — a key to the code: Moody's S&P's Meaning -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aaa AAA Best Quality Aa AA High Quality A A High to medium quality -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Baa BBB Medium Quality Ba BB Some speculative element B B At risk of default -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Caa CCC Poor quality Ca CC Highly speculative quality C C Lowest-rated -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- . D In default
  
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