Nearly $1 billion of corporate debt hit the market yesterday, while bond prices were generally unchanged in light secondary dealings.
In new-issue activity, $500 million of Ford Capital guaranteed notes, due Aug. 15, 1998, were priced for offering as 9s to yield 9.084% by co-managers Merrill Lynch & Co., Bear, Stearns & Co., and First Boston Corp.
The notes are priced 118 basis points above the yield for the comparable Treasury coupon.
The issue is rated A2 by Moody's Investors Service and A by Standard & Poor's Corp.
As senior manager on a Boston Edison Co. issue, Goldman, Sachs & Co. priced $125 million debentures.
The issue was priced as 9.375s to yield 9.39% in 2021, 118 basis points over comparable Treasuries.
The offering is rated Baa2 by Moody's and BBB by Standard & Poor's.
John Deere Capital Corp., a unit of Deere and Co., also came to market when it issued $100 million of weekly floating rate notes due Aug. 12, 1993, at par, underwritten by Merrill Lynch Capital Markets Inc.
The coupon will be tied to the discount rate on three-month U.S. Treasury bills and will yield 65 basis points over comparable Treasuries on a bond equivalent basis. The notes will pay interest quarterly.
The issue is noncallable and rated A2 by Moody's and A by Standard and Poor's.
In other activity, Union Camp Corp. issued $125 million of 9 1/4% debentures due August 15, 2021, underwritten by Goldman Sachs.
The bonds are priced at 99.316 to yield 9.318%, or 108 basis points over comparable U.S. Treasury securities.
The offering is rated A1 by Moody's and A-plus by Standard and Poor's. The debentures are noncallable for 10 years.
In ratings news, Moody's said it raised the long-term debt ratings on Chevron Corp. and its guaranteed subsidiaries to Aa2 from Aa3.
About $4 billion in debt is affected.
The action reflects Moody's expectation that Chevron will reap significant long-term benefits from its management investment program to upgrade the company's vast domestic refining and marketing businesses. Moody's also said that Chevron's financial condition is sound, characterized by strong cash flow and a solid oil and gas reserve position.
The ratings agency said it expects the company's debt protection measures to remain strong despite challenging competitive conditions over the intermediate term.
