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'Inquirer' D&B Rating Goes To Zero
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| The headquarters of The Philadelphia Inquirer. |
By John P. Connolly, The Bulletin
Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. (DNBi), a provider of credit information on businesses and corporations, downgraded Philadelphia Newspapers, LLC, from its best score to its worst. This is another sign of the operating obstacles faced by major metropolitan dailies, which was vividly captured by this past weekend’s closure of Denver’s Rocky Mountain News.
DNBi provides credit information and financial projections for more than 100 million companies worldwide. Until the weekend, Philadelphia Newspapers enjoyed a rating of 1, the highest Financial Stress Score offered, reflecting a 1.2 percent chance of failure. Over the weekend, the company was downgraded to 0, the lowest rating, because of its filing for bankruptcy protection.
The DNBi Financial Stress Score was designed to help predict a business’ potential for failure. It is designed to predict the likelihood that a company will obtain legal relief from creditors or cease operations without paying all creditors in full over the next 12 months. The score uses the full range of DNBi information, including financials, comparative financial rations, payment trends, public filings, demographic data and more.
D&B defines a financially stressed company as one that has ceased operations following assignment or bankruptcy, ceased operations with a loss to creditors, is in receivership, or has withdrawn from business operations and leaves unpaid obligations.
The risk information is classified in three ways, a “class,” a “percentile,” and a “score.” “Classes” range from 1 to 5, which is a segmentation of companies into five risk groups where a 1 represents businesses that have the lowest probability of financial stress and a five 5 represents businesses with the highest probability of financial stress.
The “percentile” ranges from 1 to 100, where a 1 represents businesses that have the highest probability of financial stress, and a 100 represents businesses with the lowest probability of financial stress.
The “score” ranges from 1,001-1,875, where a 1,001 represents businesses that have the highest probability of financial stress and a 1,875 represents businesses with the lowest probability of financial stress.
Financial Stress scores are not calculated for those businesses designated as “Discontinued at This Location,” “Open Bankruptcy” or “Higher Risk.” These records are automatically assigned a score of 0.
Philadelphia Newspapers, LLC, filed for bankruptcy last week, hoping to restructure over $400 million in debt.
John P. Connolly can be reached at jconnolly@thebulletin.us
DNBi provides credit information and financial projections for more than 100 million companies worldwide. Until the weekend, Philadelphia Newspapers enjoyed a rating of 1, the highest Financial Stress Score offered, reflecting a 1.2 percent chance of failure. Over the weekend, the company was downgraded to 0, the lowest rating, because of its filing for bankruptcy protection.
The DNBi Financial Stress Score was designed to help predict a business’ potential for failure. It is designed to predict the likelihood that a company will obtain legal relief from creditors or cease operations without paying all creditors in full over the next 12 months. The score uses the full range of DNBi information, including financials, comparative financial rations, payment trends, public filings, demographic data and more.
D&B defines a financially stressed company as one that has ceased operations following assignment or bankruptcy, ceased operations with a loss to creditors, is in receivership, or has withdrawn from business operations and leaves unpaid obligations.
The risk information is classified in three ways, a “class,” a “percentile,” and a “score.” “Classes” range from 1 to 5, which is a segmentation of companies into five risk groups where a 1 represents businesses that have the lowest probability of financial stress and a five 5 represents businesses with the highest probability of financial stress.
The “percentile” ranges from 1 to 100, where a 1 represents businesses that have the highest probability of financial stress, and a 100 represents businesses with the lowest probability of financial stress.
The “score” ranges from 1,001-1,875, where a 1,001 represents businesses that have the highest probability of financial stress and a 1,875 represents businesses with the lowest probability of financial stress.
Financial Stress scores are not calculated for those businesses designated as “Discontinued at This Location,” “Open Bankruptcy” or “Higher Risk.” These records are automatically assigned a score of 0.
Philadelphia Newspapers, LLC, filed for bankruptcy last week, hoping to restructure over $400 million in debt.
John P. Connolly can be reached at jconnolly@thebulletin.us
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