FirstEnergy weathers Moody’s downgrade

Improved safety record at nuclear power plant helps restore confidence in the utility

FirstEnergy, the utility company suspected of being responsible for last year’s blackout on the East Coast of the United States, saw Moody’s downgrade its corporate credit rating to one notch away from junk in February. The cut was largely expected by the market and the stable outlook on the rating actually settled a degree of volatility on FirstEnergy bond spreads, as investors began to feel that the worst is over for the energy firm.

S&P already rates FirstEnergy in the speculative-grade