LOWER RANKINGS: Rating agency Standard and Poor’s downgraded Nokia Corp.’s long-term corporate credit rating further into junk status.
THE DETAILS: While cutting its rating on Nokia by two notches to BB-, S&P warned there could be further downgrades. For S&P, anything below BBB- is considered junk status, or not investment grade.
TROUBLES: The ailing Finnish firm has been fighting fierce competition from Apple Inc.’s iPhone and other makers using Google Inc.’s popular Android software, including Samsung Electronics Co. and HTC of Taiwan. It is also being squeezed in the low-end by Asian manufacturers making cheaper phones, such as China’s ZTE.
