Standard & Poor's Global Digest Asia Pacific Update.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Standard & Poor's

Oct. 21, 2002--

ASIA-PACIFIC UPDATE:

Here is the current lineup of top articles and research from Standard & Poor's Credit Information Services:

COMING UP:

-- Transportation




				

				
				 
				


 Costs Affect U.S. and Asian Industries as West Coast Dockworkers Return to Work

-- Global Industry Report Card: Oil & Gas

-- Criteria for Multilateral Lending Institutions

-- Property Catastrophe Rate Increases Vary by Account Size and Region

-- European Airports Remain Profitable, but Face Pressures

-- Financial Profiles of European Airports

-- Southeast Asian Sovereign Credit Quality: Heading in the Right Direction

-- Non-Profit Profits: Not a Contradiction

UPCOMING TELECONFERENCES

-- Tobacco Settlement Authority's Tobacco Settlement Asset-Backed

Bonds, Series 2002, Monday, Oct. 21, 2002, at 2:00 P.M.

(For details please see www.ratingsdirect.com or www.standardandpoors.com. All times U.S. Eastern.)

PUBLISHED:

RESEARCH REPORTS

CORPORATES

-- Many Factors in Third-Quarter Global Oil & Gas Rating Actions

-- Regulators Set Rate Reduction For Oklahoma Gas & Electric

-- Credit Risk and Financing in the English Social Housing Sector

Examined in New Report

-- Industry Report Card: North American Chemicals

-- Post-Enron Era: A Need for Corporate Governance

-- Restoring Investor Confidence: Next Steps

-- Negative Rating Trend Leveling Off for U.S. Consumer Products

-- Accounting for Stock Option Grants in Credit Rating Analysis

GLOBAL FIXED INCOME RESEARCH

-- S&P Global Credit Trends: Quarterly Wrap-Up and Forecast

Update

PUBLIC FINANCE

-- U.S. Public Finance Third Quarter 2002 Ratings Roundup

FINANCIAL SERVICES

-- Standard & Poor's Assesses Value of Mark-to-Market Accounting

for Financial Institutions

STRUCTURED FINANCE

-- Global CDO Transactions Rated by Standard & Poor's Part 6: As

of Third-Quarter 2002

-- Article Examines Slowdown in Third-Quarter Funding

Agreement-Backed Note Issuances

-- European Leveraged Loans in Focus

-- Structured Finance Global Ratings Roundup Quarterly:

Third-Quarter Performance Trends

RATING ACTIONS

CORPORATE RATINGS

-- Dunedin City Council's 'AA-' Rating Affirmed

-- UAL Corp. Posts Heavy Loss, Ratings Still CreditWatch

Developing

-- AES Corp. Proposed Bank Facility and Exchange Notes Rated 'BB'

Preliminary

-- Sears Roebuck & Co. and Units Long-Term Ratings Placed on

CreditWatch Negative

-- Interpublic Group of Cos. Ratings Lowered; Long-term Still on

Watch Neg; Short-term Off Watch

-- Gray Television Inc. Ratings Affirmed; Off CreditWatch After

Stock Offering; Outlook Stable

-- Outlook on Aer Rianta Revised to Negative After Tariff Review;

'A+/A-1' Rtgs Affirmed

-- Calpine Power Income Fund 'SR-2' Stability Rating Affirmed;

Outlook Stable

FINANCIAL SERVICES RATINGS

-- CUSCAL's 'AA-' Ratings Affirmed; Credit Union Sector

Sensitivities Being Monitored

-- Ratings on Indonesian Insurer Jasindo Withdrawn

-- UBS Warburg Ltd. Assigned 'AA+/A-1+' Ratings; Outlook Negative

-- Merrill Lynch Life Insurance Co. and Affiliate Ratings Removed

from Watch and Lowered to 'A+'

STRUCTURED FINANCE RATINGS

-- World Financial Properties Tower D Finance Corp. Series 1996

WFP-D Rating Cut and Off Watch

-- World Financial Properties Tower B Finance Corp. Series

1996-WFP-B Rating Cut and Off

-- Tobacco Settlement Authority Asset-Backed Bonds Series 2002

Assigned Preliminary 'A' Ratings

RESEARCH ANALYSIS

CORPORATES

-- Clorox Co.

-- Solutia Inc.

-- Premcor Refining Group Inc (The)

FINANCIAL SERVICES

-- Fidelity International Ltd.

-- UnionBanCal Corp.

-- Gabelli Asset Management Inc.

SOVEREIGNS

-- United Kingdom