Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) yesterday slashed its assessment of Anglo American’s ability to repay its debt because of the sharp drop in iron ore prices. In a statement yesterday, S&P said it had lowered the corporate credit ratings on the company to BBB-/A-3 from BBB/A-2 and the South Africa national scale rating to zaAA from zaAA+. The outlook is stable. It said the stable outlook reflected its view of the limited downside to the rating over the coming 12 to 18 months, supported by the company’s expectations that it will complete its divestment programme by the end of 2016. Rubin Renecke comments.