Moody's Upgrades Qwest

Moody's Investors Service bumped its rating on the corporate family rating of Qwest Communications International Q to "Ba1" from "Ba2," citing the telecom firm's debt reduction efforts. A rating of "Ba1" is one notch below investment grade. Qwest has pared its debt by 10% since the end of last year. Shareholders of CenturyLink CTL will want to take note of the upgrade and Qwest's debt reduction efforts because CenturyLink is acquiring Qwest for $10.5 billion. Wall Street has voiced concerns about an increase to CenturyLink's debt load through the Qwest deal, which is expected to close later this month. See Some of the Top Moving Indexes Here.