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ArcelorMittal's bonds widened and the cost of protecting its debt against default rose after Moody's downgraded the company to junk on Tuesday, citing its worst quarterly results in more than three years. Moody's downgraded the senior unsecured notes of ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, to Ba1 from Baa3, and the issuer's recent subordinated perpetual hybrid bond, issued in September, to Ba3 from Ba2. The move follows the company's announcement last week to slash its dividend and focus on cutting debt after slowing demand from China and sluggish European markets drove it to a third-quarter loss. The group, which makes 6-7% of the world's steel, said market conditions would remain tough this year, and scrapped its forecast for core profit per tonne in the second half to be...
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