Credit ratings in the chemicals sector will continue to improve through the rest of this year, according to a report by Standard and Poor's (S&P; New York), the ratings agency. Improving earnings and economic conditions, favorable debt markets, and refinancing that have extended debt maturities are all contributing to positive ratings actions. S&P expects ratings upgrades to outnumber downgrades for the rest of 2010, the first time since 2005. Overall economic improvement is a positive for the whole industry, but S&P is more bullish on specialty chemicals than commodities.
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