Moody’s threatens to downgrade Agere credit

Moody’s Investors Services has placed the long-term and short-term credit ratings of Agere Systems under review, threatening the Lucent spin-off with “junk” status. Agere’s rating for long-term debt is Baa3, one notch above junk, while its short-term rating is Prime-3, the lowest investment-grade rating.

The review will focus on the company’s cash position in light of the slowdown in demand in Agere’s markets and the company’s $2.5 billion in cash and $3.3 billion in debt as of June 30.

--Toby Weber, staff writer