Attorney General Eric Holder speaks at the Justice Department in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013. The U.S. government accused Standard & Poor's of inflating ratings on mortgage investments to boost its bottom line, taking aim at a key player in the run-up to the financial crisis. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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Attorney General Eric Holder speaks at the Justice Department in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013. The U.S. government accused Standard & Poor's of inflating ratings on mortgage investments to boost its bottom line, taking aim at a key player in the run-up to the financial crisis. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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FILE - This Oct. 9, 2011 file photo shows 55 Water Street, home of Standard & Poor's, in New York. S&P said Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, the U.S. government is expected to file civil charges against Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, alleging that it improperly gave high ratings to mortgage debt that later plunged in value and helped fuel the 2008 financial crisis. The charges would mark the first enforcement action the government has taken against a major rating agency involving the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams, File)
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FILE - In this April 10, 2012 file photo, a McGraw-Hill Companies building is shown in New York. Standard & Poor's, a division of McGraw-Hill, says the government plans to file a lawsuit alleging wrongdoing by the agency when it gave high ratings to mortgage-backed securities that later plunged in value and fueled the 2008 financial crisis. S&P said Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, that it has been told by the Department of Justice that it intends to file a civil lawsuit focusing on S&P's ratings on some mortgage-backed securities in 2007. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
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FILE- In this Wednesday, June 6, 2012 file photo, Aubrey McClendon, CEO of Chesapeake Energy Corp., is pictured during the second half of Game 6 in the NBA basketball Western Conference finals, in Oklahoma City. An investigation by Chesapeake Energy Corp.'s board of directors into outgoing CEO Aubrey McClendon's personal financing deals with company partners has found the deals did not benefit McClendon improperly or cost the company more. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
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In this Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011, photo, employees at Groupon pose in silhouette by the company logo in the lobby of the online coupon company's Chicago offices. Groupon Inc., the No. 1 online deals service, failed to show investors on Thursda, Nov. 8, 2012, that its business is growing as quickly as they would like, as it was hurt by what it called "continued challenges" from the economic weakness in Europe. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Moody's downgrades Harsco's ratings
NEW YORK (
AP) —
Moody's Investors Service downgraded
Harsco Corp. Thursday on the belief that weaker demand could hurt its earnings potential.
Harsco, based in Camp Hill, Pa., provides industrial services and engineered products to clients, such as materials handling or granules for asphalt roofing shingles. The company relies heavily on non-residential construction and infrastructure spending.
Moody's believes demand from these markets will remain weak into next year, which could hinder earnings relative to debt service requirements.
The rating agency lowered the company's senior unsecured ratings one notch to "Ba1" from "Baa3", moving its rating from investment grade to junk status. In addition Moody's assigned the company a "Ba1" corporate family rating. The outlook is stable.
Harsco shares rose 20 cents to $24.74 in afternoon trading.
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