In brief: Downgrade for Sony’s debt, Company morale in Germany on the up, Colefax gets boost from buyback

Japanese consumer electronics firm Sony had its debt downgraded to junk status today by credit ratings agency Moody’s.

The shift of its bonds from Ba1 to Baa3 could it make it more expensive for Sony to borrow money. Moody’s said it was especially concerned about Sony’s television and personal computer businesses which are being hit by increasing competition.

German business morale climbed in January to its highest level since July 2011, suggesting Europe’s largest economy is on track for a strong start to 2014 after growing only modestly last year.

The Munich-based Ifo think tank’s business climate index, based on a monthly survey of some 7000 firms, rose for a third straight month to 110.6.

Luxury furnishing, fabrics and wallpapers firm Colefax saw its shares jump 15% after it announced it will buy back £4.4 million of its own shares.

That is around 9% of its capital. Colefax said first-half sales rose by 15% to £39.2 million with profits up 72% to £3.1 million thanks to continued improvement in its US market and better-than-expected recovery in the UK. The shares gained 52.5p to 405p.