PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Chunsheng Zhou
TI  - Credit Rating and Corporate Defaults
AID  - 10.3905/jfi.2001.319303
DP  - 2001 Dec 31
TA  - The Journal of Fixed Income
PG  - 30--40
VI  - 11
IP  - 3
4099  - https://pm-research.com/content/11/3/30.short
4100  - https://pm-research.com/content/11/3/30.full
AB  - Moody's default data from 1971 through 2000 indicate that default rates have been on the rise across almost every major rating category since the early 1970s, stopping only in the early 1990s. This evidence is consistent with the widespread belief among practitioners that the credit quality of U.S. corporate debt has worsened in the recent past. The result challenges the perception that credit ratings provide reliable guidance to fixed-income investments and has important implications for risk management and credit pricing.