File under "about time too": Brazil has finally been upgraded to an investment-grade credit rating by S&P. The stock market hit a new record high in celebration, and the bonds tightened in even further:
The yield to the 2015 call date on Brazil’s 11 percent bonds due in 2040 fell 23 basis points to 4.98 percent in New York, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Yep, Brazil’s bond yields are now lower than its spreads have historically been.
The upgrade is overdue if only because Brazil is now a net creditor nation, with reserves of more than $170 billion, and net creditors simply don’t default. But ratings are sticky things, and ratings agencies are generally reluctant to issue both upgrades to investment grade and downgrades from investment grade. Now Brazil has its triple-B credit rating, it’s extremely unlikely to lose it at any point in the foreseeable future.