Ratings agency Moody’s has downgraded its debt rating for Qantas to junk bond status, with the move coming a month after a similar downgrade from Standard & Poor’s.
“As a consequence, we expect these conditions to exacerbate an already high financial leverage,” Moody’s senior vice-president Ian Lewis told Fairfax.
“The cause of the deterioration in the operating profile is largely due to the aggressive competitive actions by Qantas’ key domestic competitor, Virgin Australia.”
Media giant Twenty-First Century Fox is planning to delist from the ASX just one month after separating from publishing company News Corporation.
Fox, overseen by chairman and chief executive Rupert Murdoch, comprises of broadcast, film and television assets formerly held by News Corp, from which it was separated a month ago.
“Following the separation of our businesses in June last year, 21st Century Fox has only limited operations in Australia, and we believe that consolidating the trading of our stock in the world’s largest equity market would provide improved liquidity to the company’s shareholders and greater efficiencies,” Murdoch says.
Mobil service stations are set to return to the east coast, with convenience store chain 7-Eleven set to reintroduce the brand later this year.
The announcement follows a $300 million deal in 2010 that say 7-Eleven purchase 300 petrol stations from Mobil’s parent company, Exxon-Mobil, in 2010.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up to 5327.5. The Aussie dollar is down to US88.96 cents.
Andrew Sadauskas is a former journalist at SmartCompany and a former editor of TechCompany.
