CHH’s proposed debt got a speculative rating.

Standard & Poor’s, a major rating agency, assigned a B-minus to Carter Hawley Hale’s two proposed debt issues totaling $325 million. The proceeds would be used to cover some costs of a planned restructuring that would split the Los Angeles-based retailer into two parts--department stores and specialty stores. S&P; said that, although satisfactory profits have historically eluded the company, its plans for “stringent cost reductions, plus employee ownership and incentive programs, should enhance future margins at the department stores.”