Standard & Poor's Rates Penn Virginia 'BB-'

NEW YORK (AP) — Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Thursday assigned a "BB-" corporate credit rating to oil and natural gas company Penn Virginia Corp., saying U.S. natural gas producers face a challenging near-term outlook.

The rating is three notches into junk status.

The ratings agency said Penn Virginia's outlook was stable and also assigned a "BB-" rating to the company's proposed $250 million senior unsecured notes due 2016. It gave the debt a recovery rating of "3," indicating expectations for a meaningful — 50 percent to 70 percent — recovery of payment in case of a default. ...