S&P 500
1667.47
+17.00 +1.02%
Dow Indu
15354.40
+121.18 +0.79%
Nasdaq
3498.02
+32.78 +0.94%
Crude Oil
95.88
-0.41 -0.43%
Gold
1353.851
+8.791 +0.65%
Euro
1.28440
+0.00010 +0.01%
US Dollar
84.026
-0.088 -0.11%
Strong

Market Commentary and Intraday News

Fitch raises outlook on USG credit to stable

254 days ago

(AP:NEW YORK) Fitch Ratings raised its outlook on USG Corp. on Friday, and said increased construction spending and higher prices have helped the wallboard maker's credit.

Fitch raised its outlook to stable from negative. It said USG's credit profile remains weak and kept a "B-" credit rating on USG. That rating is "junk" status, six notches below investment grade.

The firm said USG should be more profitable for the rest of 2012 and in 2013 because construction spending, particularly residential and private commercial construction, has improved compared to 2011. That means some improvement in demand for wallboard. Fitch added that USG and its competitors have increased its prices, and the companies have been able to make those increases stick.

Shares of USG rose 95 cents, or 4.4 percent, to $22.45 on Friday. The stock lost a penny to $22.44 in aftermarket trading.


Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

INO.com on Facebook INO.com MarketClub on Twitter INO.com YouTube

© Copyright INO.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved.