OREANDA-NEWS. Fitch Ratings has launched its 'Fitch Analytical Sensitivity Tool - States & Locals (FAST) V2.0', in conjunction with the publication of Fitch's updated U.S. Tax-Supported rating criteria. Fitch has also published a special report describing FAST's functionality and theoretical basis.

As an integral part of the updated criteria, FAST is not a forecasting tool but instead generates a revenue scenario specific to each issuer. The scenario is based on a common GDP stress, providing insight into revenue trends through the cycle.

FAST is a highly interactive tool that allows users to:

--Select from the more than 700 individual state, town, county and school district issuers embedded in FAST;
--Enter hypothetical issuer/revenue series;
--Form issuer peer groups based on region and demographics;
--Examine annual and period historical revenue performance for individual issuers and sectors tabularly and graphically;
--Gauge future revenue performance/volatility over the cycle given a user-specified macro scenario;
--Graphically view the impact of the generated revenue stress on three years of issuer finances through dedicated state and local scenario analysis tabs.