⁍ Pandemic has caused record rush of downgrades.

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⁍ S&P has made nearly 2,000 downgrades or outlook cuts.

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⁍ Nearly $900 billion of debt could fall to junk.

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⁍ Record defaults expected; four countries already have.

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– The bad news keeps on coming for the world’s governments and corporations. Standard & Poor’s has already downgraded 1,190 companies this year as a result of the SARS-like coronavirus, and that number is expected to rise, Reuters reports. The agency has downgraded or cut the outlook on 1,015 companies in North America, almost 975 of them directly due to the virus. Moody’s, meanwhile, has downgraded the credit ratings of 26 sovereigns, including Italy and Mexico, and it believes the outbreak will push up debt in the world’s richest nations by around 20%, “almost double the damage done by the financial crash.” Moody’s also predicts a record number of defaults, with some countries likely to default on their own for the first time since the financial crisis, the New York Times reports. The bad news isn’t limited to companies. Every sector has been affected, but energy and oil companies, retailers, media and entertainment companies, airlines, travel and leisure, banks, and capital goods firms have been hit the worst, according to Reuters.