TMB plans to merge with Thanachart, the sixth-largest bank in Thailand. In our view, the merged entity could have high systemic importance with over 10% market share and is more likely to receive a higher level of government support. That said, the deal is still subject to regulatory approval and all the details of the terms of the merger are not available. Therefore, it is difficult for us to assess the full impact of the transaction on TMB's stand-alone credit profile, if any. We are placing our 'BBB-' long-term and 'A-3' short-term issuer credit ratings on TMB on CreditWatch with positive implications. SINGAPORE (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 28, 2019--S&P Global Ratings said today that it placed its 'BBB-' long-term and 'A-3' short-term issuer credit ratings on TMB Bank Public Co. Ltd. on CreditWatch with positive implications. We also placed the 'BBB-' issue rating on the Thailand-based bank's outstanding senior u

We are assigning our 'A-2' short-term rating to Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. All other ratings on Rafael remain unchanged. We believe that Rafael has a good track record of accessing the capital markets in Israel and maintains strong relationships with local banks. LONDON (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 28, 2019--S&P Global Ratings today took the rating action listed above. The short-term rating reflects our 'A-' long-term issuer credit rating on Rafael. We understand that Rafael will use any short-term financing for acquisitions and other general corporate purposes. We expect the company will keep sufficient liquidity through available cash on hand, currently in excess of Israeli new shekel (ILS) 2 billion. For our latest analysis see "Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd.," published on Jan. 10, 2019.

Luxembourg-domiciled integrated steel producer Evraz Group S.A. reduced leverage and demonstrated record-high financial results in 2018 on the back of eased cash flow generation, thanks to a favorable pricing environment in the steel and coal segments, supportive steel demand in Russia, and the group's low-cost position. We think Evraz will sustain improved credit metrics over the next two years, thanks to reduced gross debt, strong competitive positions in its key segments, and flexible dividend policy. We are therefore raising our ratings on Evraz Group S.A. and its core financial subsidiary EvrazHolding Finance LLC, as well as on the group's senior unsecured debt, to 'BB+' from 'BB'. Also, we are assigning our 'BB+' long-term issuer credit rating to Evraz plc, the holding company that owns 100% of Evraz Group S.A. The stable outlook reflects our view of the group's resilience to industry volatility, with funds from operations (FFO)

CHICAGO (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 27, 2019--S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook to stable from positive and affirmed its 'A+' rating on Michigan Finance Authority's revenue debt, issued for MidMichigan Health (MidMichigan). "The outlook revision reflects MidMichigan's unexpectedly thin operating margin in fiscal 2018, which fell short of management's budgeted operating margin and represented considerably weaker performance than in the year before," said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Elizabeth Bachelder. Several factors contributed to the softer operating performance, including the systemwide electronic medical record (EMR) implementation and investment in new providers. While management has vigorously responded to these pressures and has seen improvement through the first half of unaudited 2019, in our view, MidMichigan's recent history of lighter performance and continued near-term headwinds, such as the completion of i

NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 27, 2019--S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook to stable from positive and affirmed its 'BBB' long-term rating on the New Jersey Health Care Facilities Financing Authority's series 2016A revenue bonds and series 2017A refunding bonds issued for Trinitas Regional Medical Center (TRMC). "The outlook revision to stable reflects a reduction in business volume contributing to a decline in market share and weaker operating performance in fiscal 2018 that was not in line with our expectations for a higher rating," said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Stephen Infranco. The affirmation continues to reflect TRMC's essentiality as the only remaining hospital (of three originally) in Elizabeth, although competing with larger health systems in the surrounding area--offset by a weak payer mix and demographically challenging service area. In addition, while operating results are below expectations in fiscal 201

TORONTO (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 27, 2019--S&P Global Ratings has corrected by revising its recovery rating on TerraForm Global Operating LLC's senior unsecured debt to '3' from '2'. Consequently, S&P Global Ratings is correcting by lowering the issue-level rating on the debt to 'BB-' from 'BB'. The original version of this article, published Feb. 7, 2018, misstated both the senior unsecured debt rating and the recovery rating on the debt. Although our calculated recovery is closer to 75%, which would imply a recovery score of '2', we cap the senior unsecured rating at '3' and the estimated recovery at 65% for the 'BB' rating category.

HONG KONG (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 28, 2019--S&P Global Ratings today assigned its 'BB' long-term issue rating to a proposed issue of U.S. dollar-denominated senior unsecured notes by Agile Group Holdings Ltd. (BB/Stable/--). The issue rating is subject to our review of the final issuance documentation. We equalize the issue rating with our issuer credit rating on Agile, given the debt is not significantly subordinated relative to other debt in the company's capital structure. As of June 30, 2018, Agile's capital structure consists of Chinese renminbi (RMB) 32.6 billion of secured debt, RMB41.9 billion of unsecured debt issued at the parent level, and RMB15.3 billion of unsecured debt (including financial guarantees to borrowings of joint ventures and associates) issued by its subsidiaries. The company issued senior unsecured notes totaling US$1 billion (equivalent to about RMB6.8 billion) in July and November 2018. We anticipate Agile will continu

HONG KONG (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 28, 2019--S&P Global Ratings today assigned its 'BBB' long-term issue rating to the proposed drawdown under the US$7.0 billion medium-term notes (MTN) program of Vanke Real Estate (Hong Kong) Co. Ltd. (Vanke HK: BBB/Stable/--), the key offshore financing subsidiary of China Vanke Co. Ltd. (BBB+/Stable/--). China Vanke will mainly use the proceeds to refinance its offshore existing indebtedness and the remaining for general corporate purposes. We equalize the rating on the senior unsecured notes with the issuer credit rating on Vanke HK due to a lack of significant secured or subsidiary debt to cause subordination risk. The issue rating is subject to our review of the final issuance documentation. We do not expect the new issuance to have a significant impact on China Vanke's financial leverage because the issuance will primarily be used for refinancing purposes. The company's strong sales and significant unrecogn

MELBOURNE (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 28, 2019--S&P Global Ratings said today that it has assigned its 'B' issue rating to Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd.'s (B+/Stable/--) A$250 million five-year senior unsecured note issued under the airline's medium-term note program. We also assigned a recovery rating of '5' to the note. We expect the company to use the proceeds to refinance part of its upcoming US$400 million senior unsecured notes maturing in November 2019. The issue rating is one notch lower than the issuer credit rating, indicating modest recovery prospects (10%-30%, rounded down estimate 15%) for unsecured creditors in the event of a default. This reflects primarily the group's highly encumbered asset base and capital-light business model. We note that Virgin is accumulating unencumbered physical assets, which may improve senior unsecured recovery prospects over time.

Our credit ratings on Cook Islands reflect its external and economic information deficiencies, developing policymaking and institutional settings, narrow economic base with a declining population, and the absence of monetary policy flexibility. Supporting our ratings are Cook Islands' supportive relationship with New Zealand and donor agencies, sound economic performance, favorable outlook for tourism, and low government debt burden. We are affirming our sovereign ratings on Cook Islands at 'B+/B'. The outlook remains stable. RATING ACTION On Feb. 28, 2019, S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'B+/B' sovereign issuer credit ratings on Cook Islands. The outlook remains stable, and the transfer and convertibility assessment remains 'AAA'. OUTLOOK The stable outlook reflects our expectation that strong tourism will continue to support the economy, debt levels will remain low, and Cook Islands' enduring relationship with New Zealand will off

The Commission today modified the submission deadlines for registered investment companies filing non-public monthly reports on Form N-PORT. Form N-PORT is a new form for reporting both public and non-public fund portfolio holdings to the Commission in a structured data format.  As a result of today's changes, rather than filing non-public monthly reports with the Commission within 30 days after each month-end, funds will be required to maintain the relevant information in their records and file all three monthly reports with the Commission no later than 60 days after the end of each fiscal quarter.  The non-public monthly reports on Form N-PORT for the first and second months of the fiscal quarter will remain non-public and the monthly report for the third month will become publicly available upon filing (with the exception of certain specific data items), rather than being filed non-publicly no later than 30 days after the end of the fiscal quarter and being made public 60 days a

S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Calgary, Alta.-based Paramount Resources Ltd. to 'B+' from 'BB-'. The downgrade reflects Paramount's weaker credit metrics following the downward revision to our global oil and gas and local Canadian prices, which should result in two-year (2019-2020), weighted-average funds from operations (FFO)-to-debt at the lower end of the 20%-30% range. The negative outlook reflects our view that Paramount could underperform our base-case scenario if additional volatility in Canadian local prices discounts results in further credit metric deterioration in the next 12 months. TORONTO (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 27, 2019--S&P Global Ratings today took the rating actions listed above. The downgrade reflects S&P Global Ratings' updated base-case scenario on Paramount, with weaker-than-expected financial performance and cash flows driven by its expectation of weaker hydrocarbon price

Despite pressures in revenues as a result of lower assets under management, GAMCO's cash flow generation continued to grow in 2018 as a result of the waiver on the CEO's compensation. While we do not incorporate any further waivers in addition to the previously announced waiver through March 31, 2019, and we anticipate that organic growth will remain pressured in 2019, we expect that leverage will remain very low because the company has been paying most of its outstanding debt during the last several quarters. We are affirming our 'BBB-' long-term issuer credit rating on GAMCO and our 'BBB-' issue-level rating on the company's unsecured notes. The stable outlook reflects our expectation that GAMCO will operate with a net cash position during the next 18-24 months while organic growth remains pressured. We do not expect any further debt issuances in our base-case scenario. WASHINGTON D.C. (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 27, 2019--, S&P Glob

Spring Education Group Inc., which operates for-profit schools at the pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade level, is borrowing an incremental $106 million senior secured first-lien term loan to fund its acquisition of five schools. We expect that pro forma for the transaction, adjusted debt leverage will increase to 8.9x from 8.2x (before one-time transactions charges) as of Dec. 31, 2018. In our view, the proposed acquisition will delay the company's deleveraging. We affirmed our 'B-' issuer credit rating on the company, and affirmed our ratings on all its existing debt facilities. We also assigned our 'B-' issue-level rating and '3' recovery rating to the proposed senior secured add-on term loan. We revised the ratings outlook to negative from stable to reflect our view that the company's debt leverage will remain high at close to 9x, and that free operating cash flow will remain low until the end of fiscal year ended June 30,2020, af

CHICAGO (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 27, 2019--S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook to positive from stable and affirmed its 'A' long-term rating on Glendale Industrial Development Authority, Ariz.'s series, 2007 and 2010 bonds, issued for Midwestern University (MWU), Ill. "The positive outlook reflects our opinion of continued growth in MWU's available resources; expendable resources have increased 38% over the past two fiscal years and went to 203% of outstanding debt in fiscal 2018 from 123% in fiscal 2016," said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Sean Wiley. The university increased financial resources mainly through adjusted full-accrual operating margins of over $90 million, almost 30% of adjusted operating expenses, with management expecting similar results in fiscal 2019. At the same time, full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment has grown as the university has added programs and expanded others, and demand metrics remain stable de

CHS (CAMH) Partnership (CHS or the project) has been in discussions to replace its former facilities management (FM) and lifecycle services provider Carillion Services (CAMH) Inc. (Carillion) ever since the company's parent, Carillion PLC, filed for liquidation in January 2018. However, it took longer than expected for the project to find a replacement operator or get an alternate remedial plan approved by the bondholders. The project is currently self-performing the operations but we note that it is currently in advanced stages of negotiations with a replacement service provider, though the bondholders have yet to approve the plan. On Feb. 27, 2019, S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'A-' rating on the project. The rating takes into account the new costs (based on the latest independent engineer's report) of self-performing the FM (that is significantly higher than the Carillion contract considering the contingency for replacement of the service provide

CENTENNIAL (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 27, 2019--S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'A' long-term rating to Westside Elementary School District (Fresno County), Calif.'s $1.75 million series A (election of 2018) general obligation (GO) bonds. The outlook is stable. "The rating reflects the district returning to strong financial results despite some economic challenges in recent history," said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst David Mares. The rating further reflects our view of the district's: Extremely strong market value per capita, Favorable revenue treatment under the state's funding formula, and Trend of very strong available fund balance reserves. Partially offsetting these factors, in our opinion, is the district's weaker economic indicators, specifically its low-to-very-low income indicators, its moderately concentrated tax base, and its slow debt amortization. Management indicates bond proceeds will be used to finance

U.S.–based tissue and paperboard producer Clearwater Paper Corp. (CLW) continues to face headwinds from higher input costs and intense competition within its tissue segment resulting in lower volumes and prices than our previous forecast. We anticipate adjusted leverage will remain above 4x for 2019, as our expectation for EBITDA growth is lower than our previous forecast. On Feb. 27, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Clearwater Paper Corp. to 'BB-' from 'BB'. At the same time, we are also lowering our issue-level rating on the company's senior unsecured notes to 'BB-' from 'BB'. The '3' recovery rating remains unchanged. The stable outlook reflects that we expect debt to EBITDA will remain above 4x, despite prospects for growth in tissue volumes from the Shelby Plant expansion. NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 27, 2019--S&P Global Ratings today took the rating actions listed above. T

Defense contractor Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc.'s order backlog has increased materially recently, improving long-term revenue visibility. On Feb. 27, 2019, S&P Global Ratings raised its issuer credit rating and unsecured debt rating (on debt that is not guaranteed) to 'BBB' from 'BBB-' The outlook is stable. At the same time we affirmed our 'BBB' rating on debt guaranteed by Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. The stable outlook reflects our view that credit metrics will remain fairly stable in 2019 with funds from operations (FFO) to debt of 55%-60%. WASHINGTON D.C. (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 27, 2019—S&P Global Ratings today took the above listed rating actions. The upgrade reflects the company's growing backlog and a modest improvement in customer and program diversity. Huntington Ingalls recently received a $15 billion order from the U.S. Navy for two aircraft carriers, which increases its total backlog to more than $35

NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 27, 2019--S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'AA' long-term rating to Mount San Antonio Community College District, Calif.'s series 2019A general obligation (GO) bonds. We also affirmed our 'AA' long-term rating on the district's series 2017 GO bond anticipation notes (BANs), our 'AA' long-term rating on the district's outstanding GO bonds and its 'AA' issuer credit rating (ICR) on the district. The outlook on all ratings is stable. "The 'AA' ratings reflect our view of the district's participation in the broad and diverse Los Angeles metropolitan statistical areas, supported by good wealth indicators; very strong reserves and a strong 10% minimum general fund reserve policy; and moderate debt burden and proactive funding of pension and other postretirement employee benefits (OPEB) liabilities," said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Shivani Singh. While we consid

Verus Securitization Trust 2019-1's issuance is an RMBS transaction backed by U.S. residential mortgage loans. We assigned our ratings to the class A-1, A-2, A-3, M-1, B-1, and B-2 certificates. The ratings reflect our view of the transaction's structural mechanics and credit enhancement, and the pool's collateral composition, among other factors. NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 27, 2019--S&P Global Ratings today assigned its ratings to Verus Securitization Trust 2019-1's mortgage pass-through certificates (see list). The issuance is a residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) transaction backed by U.S. residential mortgage loans. The ratings reflect: The pool's collateral composition; The credit enhancement provided for this transaction; The transaction's associated structural mechanics; The representation and warranty framework for this transaction; and The mortgage aggregator, Invictus Capital Partners.

Dryden 75 CLO Ltd.'s issuance is a CLO transaction backed by at least 95.0% senior secured loans, with a minimum of 90.0% of the loan issuers required to be based in the U.S. or Canada. We assigned our ratings to the class A, B, C, D, and E notes. The ratings reflect our view of the transaction's diversified collateral pool, credit enhancement, and legal structure, among other factors. CENTENNIAL (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 27, 2019--S&P Global Ratings today assigned its ratings to Dryden 75 CLO Ltd.'s floating-rate notes (see list). The note issuance is a collateralized loan obligation (CLO) transaction backed by at least 95.0% senior secured loans, with a minimum of 90.0% of the loan issuers required to be based in the U.S. or Canada. The ratings are based on information as of Feb. 11, 2019. Subsequent information may result in the assignment of final ratings that differ from the ratings. The ratings reflect: The diversified collateral pool, which

U.S.-based oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) company Devon Energy Corp. announced its intention to sell or spin off its Barnett Shale and Canadian assets, becoming an oil shale-focused company. The assets account for about 60% of Devon's year-end 2018 proven reserves and nearly half of its 2018 average production, and the divestment would significantly reduce Devon's scale, scope, and diversity and weaken its business risk profile. If a sale were to occur, the company plans to use proceeds to reduce debt and buyback shares. Although cash flows would initially drop, profitability should improve due to better price realizations on the retained production and lower costs. We affirmed our 'BBB' issuer credit and unsecured debt ratings on Devon. We revised the outlook to negative from stable to reflect the potential for a downgrade if the company sells the Barnett and Canada assets but does not bring funds from operations to debt above 45% and

ProAssurance Corp.'s operating performance and capital adequacy have both weakened. We believe the company's capital will not be replenished to historical levels. As a result, we are lowering our issuer credit ratings on ProAssurance to 'BBB' from 'BBB+'. The outlook is stable, reflecting our view that PRA's capital adequacy will remain redundant at the 'AA' level over the next 24 months. NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 27, 2019--S&P Global Ratings said today it lowered its issuer credit ratings on ProAssurance Corp. (PRA) to 'BBB' from 'BBB+'. The outlook is stable. The downgrade reflects our view that PRA's capital adequacy is unlikely to return to historical levels, as well as its weakening operating performance. In the past several years, PRA has reduced capital adequacy levels through shareholder distributions--since 2012, it has paid $884.48 million in special dividends, $439.31 million in regula

NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 27, 2019--S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'A' long-term rating to the Village of Adams, N.Y.'s series 2019 public improvement serial bonds. The outlook is stable. Bond proceeds will permanently finance bond anticipation notes outstanding that were used to finance improvements to the village's water system. "The rating reflects our view of such factors as the village's very strong budgetary flexibility and liquidity," said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Nora Wittstruck. The stable outlook reflects S&P Global Ratings' opinion that management will continue its practice of conservative budgeting to maintain very strong liquidity and budgetary flexibility.

BUENOS AIRES (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 27, 2019--S&P Global Ratings withdrew its 'BB-' rating on the proposed $200 million senior unsecured bullet notes due 2028, which Nautilus Inkia Holdings LLC, Nautilus Distributions Holdings LLC, and Nautilus Isthmus Holdings LLC intended to co-issue. We assigned the rating on the proposed notes on Nov. 29, 2018, and we're now withdrawing it because the company postponed the issuance due to market conditions.

SAN FRANCISCO (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 27, 2019--S&P Global Ratings today assigned its 'A+' issue-level rating to economic development revenue bonds issued by the Oregon Business Development Commission. The proceeds from the bonds will be used to finance the construction of certain semiconductor plants and related facilities. The bonds rely on payments from Intel Corp. to the issuers. The bonds are secured by the payments from Intel and the bond payments are guaranteed by Intel. The bonds are not secured by the facilities or by Intel's leasehold interest in the facilities and we view them as equivalent to the company's existing senior unsecured debt, which we rate 'A+'

GS Mortgage Securities Trust 2019-GC38's issuance is a CMBS transaction backed by 36 fixed-rate commercial mortgage loans with an aggregate principal balance of $756,444,365, secured by fee and leasehold interests in 53 properties across 16 states. We assigned our ratings to the class A-1, A-2, A-3, A-4, A-AB, X-A, and A-S notes. The ratings reflect the credit support provided by the transaction's structure, our view of the underlying collateral's economics, and the collateral pool's relative diversity, among other factors. NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 27, 2019--S&P Global Ratings today assigned its ratings to GS Mortgage Securities Trust 2019-GC38's commercial mortgage pass-through certificates (see list). The note issuance is a commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) transaction backed by 36 fixed-rate commercial mortgage loans with an aggregate principal balance of $756,444,365, secured by fee and leasehold interests in 53 p

NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 27, 2019--S&P Global Ratings raised its rating on Rib Floater Trust's series 2017-011 custody and floater receipts (collectively the receipts) to 'AA+' and 'AA+/A-1', respectively, from 'AA' and 'AA/A-1'. The rating action follows S&P Global Ratings' action on the underlying bonds. (For more information, please see the article, titled "Missoula, MT Water System Note Rating Raised To 'A+' On Smooth Ownership Transition, Meeting Financial Goals," published Feb. 22, 2019, on RatingsDirect.) The ratings on the receipts reflect S&P Global Ratings' opinion of the likelihood the trust, as custody receipt holder, will have sufficient assets to pay timely interest and full principal when due on floater receipts. Trust assets include all distributions of principal; interest; and premiums, if any, from the custody receipts and the liquidity facility, which is in place to

We affirmed 10 'AAA (sf)' ratings from eight stranded cost transactions. The rating affirmations reflect our opinion of the credit enhancement provided by true-up mechanisms and reserve accounts supporting our ratings in accordance with our criteria for stranded cost securitizations. SAN FRANCISCO (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 27, 2019--S&P Global Ratings today affirmed 10 ratings from eight stranded cost transactions (see list). The affirmations reflect the transactions' ongoing stable performance, the credit enhancement provided by true-up mechanisms, and reserve accounts. The affirmed ratings reflect our opinion of: The irrevocable statutory provisions and regulatory approvals, including the mandatory periodic true-up of a nonbypassable interest/charge in transition property. The fully funded capital subaccount. The excess funds subaccount, which is also available to cover any shortfalls in collections. No material service disruptions in the terr

Protracted weakness in MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings Inc.'s telecommunications revenues, combined with tepid demand for data center connectivity products and declining margins, have driven leverage over 10x for the last two quarters. Although we expect expanding 5G carrier infrastructure spending to support stronger revenues in the second half of fiscal 2019 and a return to positive free cash flow for the year, we believe that leverage will remain elevated, likely higher than 8x over the next 12 months. We are lowering our issuer credit rating on MACOM to 'B-' from 'B' based on S&P Global Ratings-adjusted leverage of 11.5x and our expectation for leverage to remain above 8x through fiscal 2019. In addition, we are lowering our issue-level rating on the firm's first-lien secured facilities to 'B-' from 'B'. The stable outlook reflects our expectation that MACOM's operating performance will improve in the second half o