Sprint/Nextel ratings cut to junk

NASCAR title sponsor Sprint Nextel Corp. shares fell in late trading Wednesday following a downgrade of the company's debt to junk status. Sprint shares were down 2.1% to $2.37. Moody's Investors Service cut the company's senior unsecured-debt rating to Ba2 from Baa3, or junk grade, and assigned a corporate-family rating of Ba1. The downgrade comes as Sprint's market position has weakened significantly.

The outlook for the ratings is negative.

Sprint continues to lose more and more customers each month to AT&T and Verizon and insiders question what the NASCAR sponsorship is doing for the company as it has lost customers since day 1 of its NASCAR deal.