North Street CDO Classes Downgraded

Four floating-rate classes of North Street Referenced Linked Notes 2000-1 Ltd., a collateralized debt obligation consisting partly of real estate investment trust securities, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings.The downgrades were as follows: class B, from BBB to BBB-minus; class C, from BB to B; and classes D-1 and D-2, from CCC to CC. The rating on one other class in the transaction was affirmed, as were the ratings on two classes of another North Street deal. The downgrades were attributed to credit deterioration in the portfolio and the expectation of "additional credit events." The transaction is a partially funded synthetic CDO created to enter into credit default swaps with UBS Investment Bank, Fitch said. It consists of corporate bonds, asset-backed securities, and REIT securities.