(Baa3, BBB-; Double Pos)
**correction to raters adj. leverage
Equities are not reading into the China updates that came this morning (or expected it - though limited signs of that).
We need to adjust lower our quoted leverage from this morning for raters higher adjustment on GAAP lease expenses. We see year-end leverage g/n at 2.4x/2.0x, which would be within both raters upgrade threshold (prev. we said outside Moody's).
Fundamentally it doesn't change the story - this is low levered co, trading wide to ratings but facing uncertain earnings development ahead. The China updates add to pressure on latter and can quickly show up in credit metrics. As we have said the 29s were our value pick in retailers for most of last year, we see it well into FV here. €27s look wide this year, but Coty 27s (+10bps over it) screens better risk there.
Find more articles and bullets on these widgets:
Markets slipped on the hawkish Fed and are yet to fully recover, touching 141.65 on the way lower. Medium-term trend signals on the continuation chart continue to point south. A resumption of the trend would pave the way for a move towards 141.56, a Fibonacci projection point on the continuation chart. A stronger recovery would open 144.48, the Nov 11 high. Further out, key resistance is at 146.53, the Aug 6 high (cont).
USDCAD is unchanged and bulls remain in the driver’s seat. The latest pause appears to be a flag formation - a bullish continuation signal. Note too that moving average studies are in a bull-mode position, highlighting a dominant uptrend. Sights are on 1.4508 next, a Fibonacci projection level. Initial firm support to watch lies at 1.4307, the 20-day EMA. A pullback would be considered corrective.
A bearish trend condition in AUDUSD remains intact and the pair continues to trade closer to latest lows. Recent weakness maintains the price sequence of lower lows and lower highs. Note that moving average studies are in a bear-mode position too, highlighting a dominant downtrend. Scope is seen for an extension towards 0.6158 next, a Fibonacci projection. Initial firm resistance to monitor is 0.6282, the 20-day EMA.