Exxon Mobil Debt-Rating Outlook at Odds With Market View

Exxon Mobil Corp.’s potential loss of top credit ratings has had little effect so far on the cost of insuring the oil and gas company’s debt against default. As the chart shows, the five-year credit default swap rate for Exxon is in line with rates for Johnson & Johnson and Microsoft Corp., the only other U.S. companies rated AAA by Standard & Poor’s and Aaa by Moody’s Investors Service. Exxon’s outlook was cut to negative from stable Thursday at Moody’s, which followed a similar move on Feb. 2 at S&P.