IN BRIEF (Page 17)

Pernod cut to junk

Pernod Ricard SA, the world's second-largest distiller, had its credit rating cut to junk by Fitch Ratings on concern the company will take on too much debt through its 5.3 billion-euro purchase of Vin & Sprit AB.

Fitch downgraded the company's so-called long-term issuer default and senior unsecured ratings by one level, from BBB- to BB+. Paris-based Pernod, which announced the deal on Monday, is borrowing 5.8 billion euros to buy the Swedish state-owned maker of Absolut vodka, doubling its debt.

Inflation comes first

European Central Bank council member Christian Noyer suggested there may be scope to lower interest rates in Europe if policymakers contain inflation expectations.

"A solid anchoring of inflation expectations remains a prerequisite for rate cuts in times of heightened financial uncertainty and downside risks to growth," Noyer, who is also governor of the Bank of France, said in a speech in Prague yesterday.

Stocks bounce back

Stocks in Europe and Asia gained yesterday, with Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index adding 1.6 percent to 310.84 as of 12:10 pm in London, rebounding from its worst first quarter since at least 1987. Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 0.6 percent, and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 0.2 percent.

National benchmark indexes gained yesterday in all 18 western European markets except Norway and Iceland. The United Kingdom's FTSE 100 added 0.8 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average advanced 1 percent.

Agencies

(China Daily 04/02/2008 page17)