Welcome to CreditPulse

CreditPulse is an online journal for credit and finance professionals that provides in-depth coverage, analysis and perspective in specific areas of credit risk management, accounting and credit markets.  CreditPulse also monitors the credit standards and performance benchmarks of public companies through its proprietary Credit Standards Index.

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Rank Company Industry Revenue* Bad Debt Allow DSO Ops Cash as % of Rev Current Ratio Debts/ Assets CSI Score
1 Arena Resources Inc
Tulsa, OK
 Oil/Gas-Independent 208,859 0.0% 20.05 84.9% 4.52 0.18 1.00
2 Monolithic Power Systems Inc
Los Gatos, CA
 Semiconductor 160,511 0.0% 20.73 24.7% 5.53 0.16 1.00
3 Tessera Technologies Inc
San Jose, CA
 Semiconductor Equip 248,291 0.4% 21.65 27.6% 7.21 0.11 1.00
4 Gen-Probe Inc
San Diego, CA
 Medical Equip/Supplies 472,695 2.1% 25.79 37.7% 13.49 0.06 1.00
5 United Microelectronics
Hsinchu City, Taiwan
 Semiconductor 3,071,496 0.1% 31.62 46.7% 5.37 0.15 1.10
* in thousands
Rank Industry No. of Comp Write- Offs Int'l Sales Bad Debt Allow DSO Ops Cash as % of Rev Current Ratio Debts/ Assets CSI Score
1 Semiconductor 89 51% 70.00% 3.2% 41.56 15.0% 4.69 0.33 2.18
2 Diagnostic Substances 10 83% 15.80% 3.1% 58.23 18.0% 4.96 0.22 2.29
3 Biotechnology 17 147% 25.60% 2.4% 58.09 23.0% 4.77 0.37 2.32
4 Mining/Quarrying 28 14% 27.80% 1.4% 35.44 21.0% 1.77 0.54 2.45
5 Oil/Gas-Independent 63 27% 3.60% 2.3% 37.09 57.0% 1.20 0.56 2.46

Recent Articles

Municipal Bankruptcies On The Rise

November 16, 2011

The Jefferson County, Alabama municipal bankruptcy, the fourth large municipality to file this year, highlights the increased risks of doing business with municipal governments in a recession.  A shady sewer deal.

On November 9, 2011, Jefferson County, Alabama, the county for Birmingham, the states largest city, filed a voluntary Chapter 9 bankruptcy for relief of more than $3.1 billion in debt after attempts to reach a debt restructuring deal with creditors fell apart, according to court documents.  Read about this bankruptcy and the risks posed by municipalities.

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European Stock Exchanges Ravaged In 3rd Quarter

October 27, 2011

Equity capital is fleeing the debt-ridden economies of Europe, particularly EU market countries, in droves as evidenced by huge declines in their stock markets for the third quarter of this year.  One bright spot: Slovakia.

To no ones surprise, Greece's stock market, the Athens Stock Exchange, was battered in the third quarter of 2011 declining 45.3 percent from July to September, according to a quarterly performance ranking of the world's 65 major stock markets released earlier this month by the Wall Street Journal.

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Credit Ratings Firms Too Lenient With Sovereign Risk Ratings

October 12, 2011

Credit ratings firms fail to see sovereign defaults coming soon enough and have typically been too late in issuing key downgrades of government or sovereign debt.  "Once a crisis is obvious, it's obvious to everybody."

The three major credit ratings firms -- Standard & Poors, Moody's and Fitch Ratings -- have a poor track record in predicting sovereign defaults soon enough to save creditors and investors, according to analysis of 35 years of data conducted by the Wall Street Journal.  Read below to learn more about sovereign defaults and the countries that have defaulted since 2001.

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Solar Bankruptcies Highlight Credit Risks of Green Energy

September 12, 2011

The recent slew of bankruptcies in the solar energy field, culminating with the Chapter 11 filing of Solyndra last week, underscore the high risks of so called "green" companies.  "An insane business model."

In May of last year, the President of the United States, Barack Obama, gave a speech at a solar facility in Fremont, California run by Solyndra, Inc. in which he touted the benefits of renewable "green" energy and jobs by claiming "the future is here to hire a thousand workers."  Read what Solyndra's largest trade creditor had to say in this CreditPulse exclusive.

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Why DSO Benchmarks and Benchmarking are Still Important

August 24, 2011

With companies becoming ever more agressive in recognizing revenue, widening credit terms and selling globally, the calculation for determining when they get paid -- days sales outstanding (DSO) -- has never been more important.  "Not a sign of strength."

Faro Technologies, Inc. is a $190 million scientific and technical instruments manufacturer based in Lake Mary, Florida, a suburb of Orlando.  The company manufactures and markets software-based three dimensional measurement and imaging systems for manufacturing, industrial, building construction and

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S&P Downgrades U.S. Sovereign Credit Rating

August 12, 2011

In its downgrade of the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA+, S&P offers keen insight into the world of sovereign credit risk.  "Uncertainty about the resolve of the U.S. government to take action on fiscal issues."

As credit decisions go, this has to rank as one of the biggest.  On August 5th, Standard & Poors, one of the world's three major credit rating agencies and long considered a key arbiter of sovereign risk, held firm to its view that the U.S. government "fell short" in its recent efforts to reduce its growing debt

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Perspective

CSI Rankings

Food Processing

56 Companies in the CSI

  1. Lancaster Colony Corp 

    Columbus, OH

    CSI Score: 1.60

  2. J&J Snack Foods Corp

    Pennsauken, NJ

    CSI Score: 1.70

  3. Omega Protein Corp

    Houston, TX

    CSI Score: 1.80

  4. Tootsie Roll Industries

    Chicago, IL

    CSI Score: 1.80

  5. Balchem Corp

    New Hampton, NY

    CSI Score: 1.90

  6. Sanderson Farms Inc

    Laurel, MS

    CSI Score: 2.00

  7. American Italian Pasta

    Kansas City, MO

    CSI Score: 2.00

  8. Ag Feed Industries Inc

    Nanchang, China

    CSI Score: 2.10

  9. Farmer Brothers Co

    Torrence, CA

    CSI Score: 2.10

  10. Seneca Foods Corp

    Marion, NY

    CSI Score: 2.20

Based on 2009 figures

Noteworthy