GTE <GTE> UNIT DEBT UPGRADED BY S/P
Standard and Poor's Corp said it
upgraded 295 mln dlrs of debt of Hawaiian Telephone Co, a GTE
Corp unit.
    It raised the company's first mortgage bonds to AA from
AA-minus and sinking fund debentures to AA-minus from A-plus.
    S and P cited earnings improvement, better capital
recovery, a stable construction program and a sophisticated
network, as well as financial improvement. This gave Hawaiian
Telephone a strengthened capital structure and cash flow in
both regulated and non-regulated businesses. But S and P said
it considers coverage a little weak.
 Reuter
