Ford (F) shares rose 1.3% in midday trading after Fitch ratings restored the company’s investment grade rating, which had fallen to junk status. Ford is still rated at junk by the two other major agencies, Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s. If one of the two other agencies follows suit and upgrades Ford, the company can recover assets used as collateral for loans it took out in 2006, including its blue logo, the AP notes.
The change could also ease Ford’s borrowing costs, and it signals that the automaker has bounced back from the abyss — and notably without the same kind of government assistance as competitors General Motors (GM) and Chrysler.
