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Abercrombie & Fitch has had strong financial results since mid-2010, but it was one of the slowest major retailers to respond to the new reality of the recession, and as a result its recovery lagged far behind most of its competitors.

MADRID (Reuters) - Fitch Ratings cut Spain's credit ratings to AA+ from AAA on Friday, saying its economic recovery would be more muted than the government forecast, pushing world equities and the euro lower. The downgrade follows a cut by another agency Standard and Poor's last month and heaps more pressure on the government, battling to reassure markets its fiscal, political and social woes will not end up in a Greek-style debt crisis. Fitch said Spain's deleveraging of record-high levels of household and corporate debt and growing levels of government debt would drag on economic growth. "The downgrade reflects Fitch's...

Fitch Cuts Greek Debt Rating to Just Above Junk Friday, April 9, 2010 11:21 AM Greece was hit with another financial headache Friday after Fitch Ratings slashed its credit rating on the country's debt because of mounting concerns about the government's ability to get a handle on its debt mountain. Fitch, one of the world's big three ratings agency, lowered its rating by two notches to BBB negative and said that the outlook on the country remains negative. The downgrade means that Greek debt remains investment grade — but only just. Another downgrade would make Greece's debt junk status —...

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Fitch Ratings said late Friday it lowered its ratings outlook on the State of California to negative from stable.

Fitch: Alt-A Mortgages Deteriorating More Rapidly than Expected By PAUL JACKSON December 15, 2008 Citing “a rapid deterioration of U.S. Alt-A RMBS performance,” Fitch Ratings again took the hatchet to its previous assumptions for Alt-A mortgages on Monday morning, revising its surveillance methodology and updating loss projections for all U.S. Alt-A RMBS. Fitch said it now expects losses on all Alt-A collateral to far exceed the estimates of its ‘moderate stress’ scenario in its late ratings update earlier this year. “Market developments, ongoing home-price declines and loan performance trends in the Alt-A sector over the prior six months have effectively...

Fitch Places Military Housing Transactions on Rating Watch Negative NEW YORK, Jun 30, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) ----Fitch is placing the following military housing transaction ratings, with surety bonds from MBIA and AMBAC, on Rating Watch Negative: --Pacific Beacon LLC (CA: 23.08, -0.01, -0.04%) Military Housing (San Diego) 2006 Series A Class I 'AAA', II 'AA' & III 'A'; MBIA surety bond; --Ohana Military Communities, LLC (HI: 22.58, +1.18, +5.51%) Military Housing Revenue Bonds (Marine Corps Hawaii Housing Privatization Project) 2007 Series A Class I 'AA'& II 'A'; MBIA surety bond; --Ohana Military Communities, LLC (HI: 22.58, +1.18, +5.51%) Military Housing...

Fitch cuts financial strength rating of bond insurer MBIA to "AA" from "AAA" Fri Apr 4, 4:33 PM By Stephen Bernard, The Associated Press NEW YORK - Credit rating agency Fitch Ratings said Friday it cut the critical financial strength rating of MBIA Inc. because the bond insurer does not have enough spare capital to warrant a top-notch rating. Fitch cut the rating to "AA" from "AAA." The downgrade could make it difficult for MBIA to book new business, as bond insurers typically need the top-tier rating to attract customers. MBIA's rating was placed on negative outlook, which is a...

Budget analysts, Wall Street bond-raters and state lawmakers are casting doubt on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's claim that his proposed spending plan for next fiscal year could wipe out California's chronic budget deficit. On Friday, the state's nonpartisan legislative analyst blasted Schwarzenegger's plan in unusually forceful terms. "We believe that the fiscal benefits of many of the budget's key proposals are overstated," Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill wrote in her annual critique of the spending plan, kicking off months of negotiations in the capital. "While any budget is subject to risks and uncertainties, we believe that the number and magnitude of these...

Abercrombie and Fitch Thinks They’re Turning Japanese March 3, 2005 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- by John Phillips -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Clothing manufacturer Abercrombie and Fitch and entertainment giant Warner Brothers Studios have been known to use the same marketing techniques to sell their racy flicks and relaxed yet dressy wool sweaters: scantily clad models, the art of seduction and most recently a desire to “nip the nips.” In regard to the latter, Warner Brothers produced the 1944 cartoon Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips -- A&F allegedly refuses to hire or promote Asian Americans and other ethnic minorities. These charges were cemented in the minds of...

A New York-based ratings service has downgraded $46 million in San Diego's general obligation bonds and $250 million in debt, a decision that may lead to higher borrowing costs for the financially challenged municipality. The notice, issued after an extensive review by Fitch Ratings analyst Amy Doppelt in San Francisco, downgraded the city's general obligation bonds to "A" grade from "AA." The lease-backed debt of $250 million was dropped from "A-" to "AA-", a company spokesman said. In issuing the opinion, used by world credit markets to evaluate investment prospects for clients, Fitch cited "continued delays in the release of...

It's official ... almost. Warrenton mayor George Fitch confirmed on Monday that he will formally enter the Republican Party gubernatorial-nomination race this week. Fitch has scheduled a news conference for Wednesday morning in Norfolk to announce his candidacy for the party nod.

Civil rights attorneys today announced the settlement of a class action lawsuit, Gonzalez v. Abercrombie & Fitch, requiring the retail clothing giant to pay $40 million dollars to Latino, African American, Asian American and women applicants and employees who charged the company with discrimination. The settlement, approved this morning by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston, also requires the company to institute a range of policies and programs to promote diversity among its workforce and to prevent discrimination based on race or gender.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 12, 2004--Fitch Ratings lowers the rating assigned to Golden State Tobacco Corporation's enhanced tobacco settlement asset-backed bonds, series 2003 B to 'BBB' from 'A-'. Certain of the maturities are insured; for these maturities, the action pertains to the underlying ratings. The rating remains on Rating Watch Negative. While pledged tobacco settlement revenues are the expected source of payment, ultimate security and the rating are based on the covenant that the director of finance will request the governor to include in the annual state budget act an appropriation for the full amount of debt service and operating expenses...