Stocks edge higher as budget talks move ahead

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      Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012, following a closed-door meeting House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)  less

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are opening slightly higher on Wall Street as both sides make concessions in budget talks in Washington.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 17 points to 13,252 shortly after the opening bell Tuesday. The Dow rose 100 points the day before.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose two points to 1,432 and the Nasdaq composite rose 10 to 3,020.

President Barack Obama offered to raise the income level at which higher tax rates would kick in and lowered his 10-year goal for increasing tax revenue. That followed an offer from House Speaker John Boehner to raise taxes on the wealthy.

Radio ratings provider Arbitron jumped 24 percent after the company agreed to bought by Nielsen, the television ratings service, for $1.3 billion.

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TEXT-S&P summary: SP PowerAssets Ltd.

 Summary analysis -- SP PowerAssets Ltd. --------------------------- 18-Dec-2012

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CREDIT RATING: AA-/Stable/NR Country: Singapore

Primary SIC: Electric Services

Mult. CUSIP6: 78462Q

===============================================================================

Credit Rating History:

Local currency Foreign currency

31-Mar-2008 AA-/NR AA-/NR

31-May-2005 AA/NR AA/NR

===============================================================================

Rationale

The rating on SP PowerAssets Ltd. (SPPA) reflects the company's monopoly as

the sole owner and maintainer of Singapore's electricity transmission and

distribution (T&D) assets, and as the sole electricity transmission licensee.

The rating also reflects SPPA's high revenue and cash flow certainty, which is

supported by a regulated tariff structure till 2013 and a cap on the company's

loss of revenues due to lower volumes. We assess SPPA's business risk profile

to be "excellent" and its financial risk profile to be "intermediate." SPPA is

a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Power Ltd. (SingPower: AA-/Stable/--;

axAAA/--), which the Singapore government's investment holding company,

Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited (AAA/Stable/A-1+; axAAA/axA-1+), owns.

We assess SPPA's stand-alone credit profile to be 'a'. The rating on SPPA

incorporates a two-notch uplift to reflect our opinion that there is a "very

high" likelihood that the government of Singapore (through Temasek) would

provide timely and sufficient extraordinary support to the company in the

event of financial distress. In accordance with our criteria for

government-related entities (GREs), our view of the extraordinary government

support is based on our assessment of the following SPPA characteristics:

-- Its "very important" role as the owner and maintainer of Singapore's

electricity T&D assets, and the importance of the economic service the company

delivers; and

-- Its "very strong" link with the government through SingPower's parent,

Temasek, which the government of Singapore (AAA/Stable/A-1+; axAAA/axA-1+)

owns.

The rating on SingPower influences the rating on SPPA. The rating on SingPower

reflects the consolidated credit profile of the company and its subsidiaries,

including SP AusNet Group (local currency A-/Stable/--), SPPA, and SPI

(Australia) Assets Pty Ltd. (A-/Stable/--). The majority of SingPower's

businesses focus on stable and monopolistic T&D businesses. Nevertheless, we

believe SingPower's consolidated stand-alone credit profile is weaker than

that of SPPA.

Lenders to other companies in the SingPower group do not have recourse to

SPPA's assets. Nevertheless, the rating on SPPA cannot be higher than that on

SingPower because SPPA is not ring-fenced from other group companies. As

SPPA's dominant owner, SingPower can move funds across group companies to

support weaker businesses, if necessary. SPPA's transactions with the other

group companies need the approval of independent board directors. But the

company is not restricted from paying special dividends to SingPower. SPPA's

operations and business also remain closely linked to SP Services Ltd. (not

rated) and SP PowerGrid Ltd. (not rated), both of which SingPower wholly owns.

We expect SPPA's cash flow adequacy measures to weaken in the next two years

as the company increases both replacement and growth investments in Singapore

to address aging infrastructure and meet future increases in demand. These

investments will be partially funded with debt. We estimate SPPA's ratio of

funds from operations (FFO) to debt to average about 11%-12% for the next five

years, compared with an average of about 13% over 2010-2012. SPPA's

high-quality cash flow, liability management efforts, and solid access to

financial markets should mitigate the impact of weaker cash flow measures, in

our opinion.

Liquidity

SPPA's liquidity is "adequate," as defined in our criteria. We expect the

company's liquidity sources (including cash, FFO, and credit facilities) to

exceed its uses by at least 1.2x over the next 12 months. Our liquidity

assessment is based on the following factors and assumptions:

-- Cash and cash equivalents and available lines under committed bank

facilities fully cover debt maturities over the next 12 months.

-- EBITDA is highly predictable, which is supported by a favorable

regulatory framework in Singapore.

-- We believe net liquidity sources would remain above cash requirements

even if EBITDA declines by 20%.

-- The company has supportive banking relationships and has good access

to debt capital markets in Singapore.

Outlook

The outlook on SPPA reflects the outlook on SingPower.

We may lower the rating on SPPA if we lower the likelihood of extraordinary

government support for SingPower by one category to "moderately high." We

could also downgrade the company if its stand-alone credit profile weakens by

one notch to 'bbb+' due to either of the following:

-- SingPower departs significantly from its strategy of staying in its

core T&D business in a stable regulatory environment; or

-- The contribution of SingPower's international businesses to the

group's cash flows and assets increases materially, such that it becomes the

key driver of the rating; or

-- SingPower's cash flow adequacy and liquidity deteriorate, or a tunnel

project that the company has undertaken in Singapore faces material delays and

cost overruns, such that its FFO-to-debt ratio heads toward 10% or below.

Conversely, while the probability of an upgrade is low, we could raise the

rating if we raise the likelihood of extraordinary support by one category to

"very high" or SingPower's stand-alone credit profile improves by three

notches.

Related Criteria And Research

-- Methodology: Business Risk/Financial Risk Matrix Expanded, Sept. 18,

2012

-- Rating Government-Related Entities: Methodology And Assumptions, Dec.

9, 2010

-- Stand-Alone Credit Profiles: One Component Of A Rating, Oct. 1, 2010

-- Business And Financial Risks In The Investor-Owned Utilities Industry,

Nov. 26, 2008

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However, the rating on SingPower may come under pressure if the contribution

of the company's international business to the group's cash flows and assets

increases significantly, such that it becomes the key rating driver. This

could be due to SingPower's material expansion in markets and businesses that

we view as being of lesser quality than the T&D business in Singapore. The

Australian business currently contributes about 60% of SingPower's total

EBITDA and the Singapore business contributes the rest. We assess the credit

profile of the group's Australian business to be in the 'bbb' category and

that of the Singapore business to be in the 'a' category.

We believe that there is a "high" likelihood that the government of Singapore

(AAA/Stable/A-1+; axAAA/axA-1+), through SingPower's parent, Temasek Holdings

(Private) Limited (AAA/Stable/A-1+; axAAA/axA-1+), would provide timely and

sufficient extraordinary support to SingPower in the event of financial

distress. However, we believe that government and shareholder support is not

absolute.

We assess the stand-alone credit profile of SingPower to be 'a-'. In

accordance with our criteria for government-related entities, our view of a

"high" likelihood of extraordinary government support is based on our

assessment of the following SingPower characteristics:

-- Its "important" role as the holding company for SPPA, which owns and

maintains Singapore's electricity T&D assets, and SP PowerGrid Ltd., which

manages SPPA's assets; and

-- Its "very strong" link with the government.

We expect SingPower's cash flow adequacy measures to weaken in the next one to

two years as the company undertakes a tunnel project in Singapore to replace

aging underground transmission cables and lay new cables to support the growth

in electricity demand. The project is estimated to cost about Singapore dollar

(S$) 2 billion, and we expect SingPower to fund about 70% of the cost through

borrowings. We estimate SingPower's ratio of funds from operations (FFO) to

debt to drop to 11%-12% for the next two years, compared with about 13% for

the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012.

Nevertheless, SingPower's diverse high-quality cash flow, liability management

efforts, and solid access to financial markets mitigate the impact of the

company's weaker cash flow and profitability measures.

Liquidity

SingPower's liquidity is "adequate," as defined in our criteria. We expect the

company's liquidity sources (including cash, FFO, and credit facilities) to

exceed its uses by at least 1.2x over the next 12 months. Our liquidity

assessment is based on the following factors and assumptions:

-- Cash and cash equivalents and available lines under committed bank

facilities fully cover debt maturities over the next 12 months.

-- EBITDA is predictable, which is supported by a favorable regulatory

framework.

-- We believe net liquidity sources will remain above cash requirements

even if EBITDA declines by 20%.

SingPower has supportive banking relationships and has good access to debt

capital markets in Singapore and Australia.

Outlook

The stable outlook reflects our expectation that SingPower will continue to

have stable cash flows and will pro-actively manage its liabilities in the

next couple of years while pursuing growth investments.

We may lower the rating on SingPower if we lower the likelihood of

extraordinary government support by one category to "moderately high." We

could also downgrade SingPower if its stand-alone credit profile weakens by

one notch to 'bbb+' due to either of the following:

-- SingPower departs significantly from its strategy of staying in its

core T&D business in a stable regulatory environment; or

-- The contribution of SingPower's international businesses to the

group's cash flows and assets increases materially, such that it becomes the

key driver of the rating; or

-- SingPower's cash flow adequacy and liquidity deteriorate, or the

company's tunnel project faces material delays and cost overruns, such that

its FFO-to-debt ratio heads toward 10% or below.

Conversely, while the probability of an upgrade is low, we could raise the

rating if we raise the likelihood of extraordinary support by one category to

"very high" or SingPower's stand-alone credit profile improves by three

notches.

Related Criteria And Research

-- Methodology: Business Risk/Financial Risk Matrix Expanded, Sept. 18,

2012

-- Rating Government-Related Entities: Methodology And Assumptions, Dec.

9, 2010

-- Stand-Alone Credit Profiles: One Component Of A Rating, Oct. 1, 2010

-- Business And Financial Risks In The Investor-Owned Utilities Industry,

Nov. 26, 2008

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TEXT-S&P summary: Tokio Marine Retakaful Pte. Ltd.

(The following statement was released by the rating agency)

Dec 18 -

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Summary analysis -- Tokio Marine Retakaful Pte. Ltd. -------------- 18-Dec-2012

===============================================================================

CREDIT RATING: None. Please see issue list. Country: Singapore

Primary SIC: Surety insurance

===============================================================================

Financial Strength Rating History:

27-Jan-2011 AA-

01-Oct-2007 AA

===============================================================================

Rationale

Our rating on Singapore-based Tokio Marine Retakaful Pte Ltd. (TMRt) reflects

the unconditional guarantee of policy obligations provided to the entity by

Japan-based Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co. Ltd. (Tokio Marine &

Nichido Fire; AA-/Negative/A-1+), part of Tokio Marine Group. TMRt's immediate

holding company is Singapore-based Tokio Marine Asia Pte. Ltd. (TMAsia; not

rated). Both Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire and TMAsia are wholly owned

subsidiaries of Japan's Tokio Marine Holdings Inc. (not rated).

This explicit support agreement meets the guarantee criteria of Standard &

Poor's Ratings Services. We expect Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire to ensure that

claims made by TMRt policyholders are paid, and as a consequence, the rating

on TMRt will move in tandem with those on Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire.

TMRt originally commenced operations in 2004 as a reinsurance company

specializing in the takaful business, which is an alternative insurance that

follows principles of Islamic Law and is often considered more acceptable to

Muslims than conventional insurance. TMRt now focuses on life retakaful, which

is also referred to as family retakaful, and generates most of its business in

Malaysia and the Middle East.

Outlook

The negative outlook on the rating on TMRt reflects the outlook on the rating

on its guarantor, Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire. The rating or outlook on TMRt

would only move in tandem with a change in the rating or outlook on Tokio

Marine & Nichido Fire.

Rating Criteria And Research

Interactive Ratings Methodology, published April 22, 2009

Group Methodology, published April 22, 2009

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Japan's space agency probes possible data leak

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's space agency says it is investigating a possible leak of data about its Epsilon rocket due to a computer virus. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency says an infected computer was disconnected from its networks after a virus was found earlier this month. It is checking to see if any data was siphoned from it. JAXA said in a statement that information about the Epsilon, due to be launched next year, its M-5 rocket and H2A and H2B rockets may have been compromised. The agency said it is tightening security to prevent any further leaks. Japan is hoping to compete with the U.S., Russia, Europe and others as a satellite launch vehicle provider and has developed the Epsilon to reduce costs and speed up launch times.

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Guard says Manning protest annoyed brig staff

FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) — Some workers at a Marine Corps brig housing a soldier charged with sending U.S. secrets to WikiLeaks became annoyed at a demonstration on his behalf the day before a confrontation that led to tighter restrictions on him, a former guard testified Saturday. The testimony by former Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jonathan Cline undercut government efforts to show that Pfc. Bradley Manning's tight confinement conditions were justified to prevent him from killing or hurting himself. The defense claims the nine months Manning spent in virtual isolation, sometimes without clothing, amounted to illegal pretrial punishment. Manning and his attorneys want all the charges dismissed. Cline testified on the fifth day of a pretrial hearing at Fort Meade, near Baltimore. He was called as a prosecution witness to talk about a Jan. 18, 2011, incident in which Manning hid behind an exercise machine and wept after he was scolded by another guard for failing to respond properly to a command. Later that day, the brig commander, Chief Warrant Officer 4 James Averhart, added "suicide risk" to Manning's maximum-custody conditions. That was after they had what Manning described as a heated argument about the incident. Manning testified Thursday that the guards seemed angry that morning as they escorted him in leg irons and handcuffs to an exercise room. He said their attitude made him nervous, culminating in his odd behavior. "I thought I was going to be attacked or assaulted or something like that," Manning said. Cline testified that some brig workers were annoyed that a pro-Manning protest a day earlier had closed Quantico's main gate, forcing them to take alternate routes home. Cline said he wasn't personally affected by it. Defense attorney David Coombs has implied the guards took out their irritation on Manning by bullying him. Cline and another former guard, Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua Tankersly, both testified that except for the Jan. 18 incident, Manning was always compliant and respectful. Another former brig worker, Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. William Fuller, testified that Manning was often uncommunicative and withdrawn, possibly signaling a suicide risk. Fuller testified that before Jan. 18, he had considered recommending to Averhart that Manning be removed from "prevention-of-injury," or POI, status because of his improved behavior. Manning was on either POI or even more restrictive "suicide risk" status during his entire stay at Quantico in maximum custody. His behavior Jan. 18 "gave us cause for concern," Fuller said. "That kind of reset things, unfortunately." Manning was at Quantico from July 2010 to April 2011. Then he was moved to pretrial confinement at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. He has been held in medium custody since arriving there. The 24-year-old native of Crescent, Okla., worked as an intelligence analyst in Baghdad in 2009 and 2010. He is charged with 22 offenses, including aiding the enemy and violating federal espionage and computer security laws. He could get life in prison. He is accused of sending to the website WikiLeaks more than 250,000 diplomatic cables, classified memos, Iraq and Afghanistan war logs, Guantanamo Bay prison records and a 2007 video clip of a U.S. helicopter crew gunning down 11 men. It was later determined that one of those men was a news photographer. The Pentagon said its troops mistook camera equipment for weapons.

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Brig counsellor: Manning's history, behaviour outweighed doctor's opinion of self-harm risk

FORT MEADE, Md. - An Army private charged with sending U.S secrets to the website WikiLeaks had a history of suicidal thoughts and aloof behaviour that outweighed a psychiatrist's opinion that he was no risk to himself, two former counsellors testified Sunday. Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Jordan and Marine Master Sgt. Craig Blenis testified on the sixth day of a pretrial hearing for Pfc. Bradley Manning at Fort Meade, near Baltimore. The hearing is to determine whether Manning's nine months in pretrial confinement at the Marine Corps brig in Quantico, Virginia, were so punishing that the judge should dismiss all charges. The 24-year-old intelligence analyst is accused of sending hundreds of thousands of classified documents to the secret-spilling website in 2009 and 2010 when he was stationed in Baghdad. The counsellors, both of whom worked in the brig, sat on a board that recommended to the brig commander that Manning remain in maximum custody and on either injury-prevention or suicide-risk status — conditions that kept him confined to his cell 23 hours a day, sometimes with no clothing. Jordan said under cross-examination by defence attorney David Coombs that besides the mental-health report, he considered evidence that Manning had contemplated suicide six to eight months earlier after his arrest in Iraq. The evidence included a noose Manning had fashioned from a bedsheet while confined in Kuwait, and a written statement he made upon arrival at Quantico in July 2010 that he was "always planning and never acting" on suicidal impulses. Jordan acknowledged Manning had been a polite, courteous and nearly trouble-free detainee at Quantico. "Wouldn't his past six months of performance be an indicator of his potential for future behaviour?" Coombs asked. But Jordan maintained that Manning's unwillingness to converse with him and other brig staff was a warning sign he was at risk of self-harm. Jordan said he considered the opinion of the brig psychiatrist, Navy Capt. William Hocter, that Manning was no longer at risk of self-harm. But Jordan said the weight he gave to Hocter's views was diminished because another detainee had recently killed himself after his custody status was reduced on Hocter's advice. "I would consider it, but I would always consider it with care, sir," he told Coombs. Blenis, who spent more time with Manning, said Manning chose not to speak most of the time except for short, yes-or-no answers. He said Manning spurned his offers to play chess or work brain teasers by arrogantly responding, "They're a little below my level." "I've got a person not communicating with me that's sitting in his cell, not doing anything," Blenis said. He said he supported the brig commander's decision in March 2011 to strip Manning of all clothing at night and place him on suicide watch after Manning told another staffer that if he really wanted to kill himself, he could use the elastic waistband on his underwear. "If someone tells me they're going to shoot themselves in the face, I'm not going to give them a gun," Blenis said. Manning was moved in April 2011 to pretrial confinement at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He's been held there in medium custody since then. Earlier Sunday, the military judge said Manning's trial, previously set to begin Feb. 4, would be pushed back to sometime in March due to lengthy pretrial proceedings. The hearing on Manning's confinement was to recess Sunday and resume Wednesday. Manning is charged with 22 offences, including aiding the enemy and violating federal espionage and computer security laws. He could get life in prison. He is accused of sending to WikiLeaks more than 250,000 diplomatic cables, classified memos, Iraq and Afghanistan war logs, Guantanamo Bay prison records and a 2007 video clip of a U.S. helicopter crew gunning down 11 men in Iraq. It was later determined that one of those men was a news photographer. The Pentagon said its troops mistook camera equipment for weapons. The case has spawned an international support network of people who believe the U.S. government has gone too far in seeking to punish Manning, who was a low-level intelligence analyst in Baghdad.

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