S&P downgrades Adelphia

Standard & Poor's downgraded Adelphia Communications Corp. and kept the company on CreditWatch with developing implications. Ratings affected include Adelphia's notes, cut to CCC from B-, its bank facilities, cut to B- from B+, its preferred stock, cut to CC from CCC and its convertible subordinated notes, cut to CCC- from CCC+.

S&P said it is concerned that Adelphia's delay in filing its 10K coupled with formalization of the SEC's investigation into the company's accounting further exacerbates the company's already weakened financial profile.

"Adelphia missed filing its 10K within the 15-day extension from the SEC, and we do not know when the 10K will be filed," Standard & Poor's credit analyst Richard Siderman said in a news release. "As a result of missing this deadline, the company jeopardizes its ability to sell publicly registered securities as well as maintain the listing of its equity securities on the NASDAQ."

S&P said it is concerned that the delay in filing the 10K could impair Adelphia's ability to meet covenants in some of its public debt issues or bank credit facilities.

Moody's rates Forest Oil notes Ba3

Moody's Investors Service assigned a Ba3 rating to Forest Oil Corp.'s $150 million of 7.875% senior unsecured 12-year notes and confirmed its existing ratings including its senior unsecured notes at Ba3, its $600 million senior secured revolver at Ba1 and its senior subordinated notes at B1. The outlook is stable.

Moody's said Forest benefits from early 2003 prospects for bringing potentially sizable, longer-lived Redoubt Shoal production on line and its proven undeveloped reserves to proven developed status; Forest's reasonable scale for the rating; intensive Gulf of Mexico reserve and infrastructure positions and long Gulf of Mexico operating history; and diversified long-term potential across four existing operating basins.

Negatives include surging debt on proven developed reserves during the heavy front-end capital spending for Redoubt Shoal; Forest's reduced proven developed reserve scale and higher debt levels since 2000; six sequential quarters of falling pro-forma production, partly due to heavy capex devoted to longer-lead time areas, some cash flow diverted to debt reduction; and asset sales; expected production declines of 15% to 20% in 2002; partly due to priority front-end spending on Redoubt Shoal; fairly high combined unit production, G&A, interest, and finding and development costs for the rating; reliance on short-lived Guld of Mexico production for roughly 67% of cash flow; and the inexorable reinvestment and risk pressures of short Gulf of Mexico production.

S&P rates new Forest notes BB

Standard & Poor's assigned a BB rating to Forest Oil Corp.'s new offering of $150 million senior notes due 2014.

S&P says Lucent outlook still stable

Standard & Poor's said Lucent Technologies Inc.'s announcement of quarterly earnings and that it had met the financial conditions necessary to complete the spin-off of its 58%-owned Agere Systems Inc. will have no effect on its ratings or outlook. S&P currently has a B+ corporate credit rating on Lucent with a stable outlook.

Lucent's ratings continue to reflect challenging market conditions and the company's improved liquidity, in addition to its efforts to restore profitability, S&P said.

Moody's rates Vintage notes Ba3

Moody's Investors Service assigned a Ba3 rating to Vintage Petroleum Inc.'s proposed $250 million of senior unsecured 10 year notes and confirmed its existing ratings including its Ba3 senior unsecured issuer rating and B1 senior subordinated note ratings.

Moody's said Vintage's ratings are restrained by escalated leverage, lower productivity on 2001 capital outlays than historically delivered and a major expensive debt-funded acquisition, reduced liquidity, low net backs on material portions of production, expected insufficient 2002 cash flow to internally fund healthy capital outlays, and a soft 2002 production outlook due to sharply reduced outlays and steeper than expected Canadian declines.

Argentina's 20% export tax and currency restrictions reduce Vintage's hard currency cash flow, partly offset by Vintage's doubling of exported Argentine production, Moody's added.

Fitch rates Conseco exchanged debt B-, downgrades senior notes

Fitch Ratings assigned a B- rating to the senior securities issued as part of Conseco Inc.'s recently completed debt exchange and downgraded its existing senior debt to CCC+ from B-. All ratings remain on Rating Watch Negative.

Fitch said the reflects the structural subordination of the existing senior debt to the new notes.

Because the take-up was higher in the longer maturities, the exchange does not materially impact the company's maturity schedule in 2002 and 2003, Fitch said. However, it does significantly reduce principal repayments due in 2004 and 2005.

S&P confirms Riverwood corporate credit, cuts existing debt

Standard & Poor's confirmed Riverwood International Corp.'s corporate credit rating at B and downgraded its existing debt. Ratings affected include Riverwood's $250 million 10.25% senior notes due 2006 and $250 million 10.625% senior notes due 2007, cut to CCC+ from B-, and its $300 million revolving credit facility due 2005 and $335 million term loan due 2005, cut to B from B+. It also assigned a B rating to the company's new $250 million senior secured term loan due 2007.

S&P said the actions reflect a shift in the composition of Riverwood's debt following its new bank facilities, which substantially increase the amount of secured debt.

As a result the bank loan rating is now the same as the corporate credit rating and not one notch higher as was previously the case, S&P said.

Although S&P said it believes there is a strong possibility of substantial, or perhaps even full, recovery of principal in the event of default or bankruptcy, it added that its level of confidence in full recovery is not sufficient to warrant the bank loan rating being one notch higher than the corporate credit rating.

S&P puts Scientific Games on positive watch

Standard & Poor's put Scientific Games Corp. and CreditWatch with positive implications. Ratings affected include its $150 million 12.5% senior subordinated notes due 2010 at B- and its $65 million revolving credit facility due 2006, $60 million term A loan due 2006 and $220 million term B loan due 2007, all rated B+.

S&P cuts Transener

Standard & Poor's downgraded Compania de Transporte de Energia Electrica en Alta Tension SA's (Transener) $100 million 8.625% medium-term notes series A due 2003 and $150 million 9.25% medium-term notes series B due 2008 to D from CC.

S&P confirms YPF SENs, off watch

Standard & Poor's confirmed the ratings of YPF SA's structured export notes and took them off CreditWatch with negative implications. Ratings affected include YPF's $400 million 8.95% structured export notes due 2002, $400 million 7.5% structured export notes due 2002 and $100 million 7% medium-term notes due 2002, all rated BB+.

The rating affirmation is based on the release of financial statements that confirm S&P's expectations of a significant debt reduction as of December 2001, thereby lowering immediate refinancing risks.

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