S&P Global Credit Markets Digest\.

Business Editors

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

Oct. 15, 2002--Here is the current lineup of top articles and research from Standard & Poor's Credit Information Services:

COMING UP:

-- Weak Newsprint Markets Lead to Negative Rating Actions on North American Producers

-- Bucking the Trend: Strengthening Bank Creditworthiness in Central & Eastern Europe

-- Criteria for Multilateral Lending Institutions

-- Increased Public Health Services Use, Decreased Reimbursement Affect Califorina County Credit

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

-- Third Quarter U.S. Oil & Natural Gas Ratings Round-Up

-- Oklahoma Gas & Electric Loses Rate Case

-- 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

-- Mark-to-Market Accounting For Financial Institutions

UPCOMING TELECONFERENCES

-- An Overview of Standard & Poor's Criteria for Hedge Funds

CFOs, Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 11:00 A.M.

-- Standard & Poor's Governance Services: Transparency and

Disclosure Rankings of Companies on S&P 500, Wednesday, Oct.

16 at 10:00 A.m.

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

PUBLISHED:

RESEARCH REPORTS

CORPORATES

-- Industry Report Card Released on European Forest Products

-- Corporate Governance as a Factor in Assessing Creditworthiness

-- How is U.K. Private Finance Initiative Risk Changing?

-- U.S. Electric and Gas Utilities Anchoring Their Diversified

Parents

-- Mostly Negative Third Quarter Rating Activity For U.S.

Utilities

-- U.S. Apparel and Textile Industries Pressed by Negative Trends

in 2002

-- U.S. Retail Credit Quality Still Suffering; Outlook Guarded

-- Credit Decline Slows in Europe's Consumer Goods Sector

-- Credit Stability of Europe's Food Retailers Under Threat

-- European Logistics Operators Poised for Further Industry

Concentration

-- U.K. Social Housing Sector Experiences Increased Credit Risk

GLOBAL FIXED INCOME RESEARCH

-- U.S. Economic Outlook: A Steady, if Unremarkable, Economic

Expansion

FINANCIAL SERVICES

-- Report: Corporate Governance Underpins Divergent Fortunes of

Japanese, Korean Banks

-- Q3 U.S. Nonprofit Health Care: Downgrades Worsen After Several

Quarters of Improvement

SOVEREIGNS

-- Indonesian Government Response to the Fatal Bombing in Bali

Will be Key to Future Prospects

STRUCTURED FINANCE

-- Italian Securitization Market on Target for Growth

Expectations After Impressive Third Quarter

-- Negative Equity RMBS in Hong Kong Poses Analytical Challenges

-- New Assets in Securitization Present Challenges and Rewards

-- Credit Scoring Systems Improve Efficiency of Mortgage

Securitization

-- CDO Market Remains Stable as Market Players Continue to Learn

to Mitigate Credit Volatility

RATING ACTIONS

CORPORATE RATINGS

-- Ratings on Thai Cellular Co. Advanced Info Services Affirmed

-- TXU Australia's Rating Lowered to 'BBB'; Outlook Remains

Negative

-- TXU Corp. Rtgs Lowered to 'BBB'; Otlk Negative; TXU Europe

Rtgs Lowered to 'B+'/Watch Negative

FINANCIAL SERVICES RATINGS

-- Taiwan's International Commercial Bank of China Lowered to

'A'; Off CreditWatch

-- Ratings Assigned to FirstCaribbean International Bank Ltd.

-- Russian MDM Bank's Long-Term Rating Raised to 'B-' Based on

Improved Market Position

-- Zurich Life U.S. 'A+' Ratings Removed from CreditWatch and

Affirmed; Outlook Negative

-- Zurich Financial Services Group Removed From Watch; 'A+/A-1'

Ratings Affirmed; Outlook Neg

LOCAL & REGIONAL GOVERNMENTS

-- State of Coahuila de Zaragoza, Mexico Upgraded to

'mxAA'/Stable

STRUCTURED FINANCE RATINGS

-- ZCM Matched Funding Corp.-Related Synthetic Ratings Affirmed

and Removed from CreditWatch

-- MorServ Inc. Ratings Raised and Affirmed on 29 Classes

RESEARCH ANALYSIS

CORPORATES

-- Mandalay Resort Group

-- Tommy Hilfiger, U.S.A. Inc.

-- Sociedad General de Aguas de Barcelona S.A.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

-- SEB Hypothekenbank AG

-- Scotiabank Sudamericano

-- Dexia Hypothekenbank Berlin AG

-- Nederlandse Waterschapsbank N.V.

-- OJSC Joint Bank Lariba Bank

-- Pennsylvania Dental Service Corp. (d/b/a Delta Dental of

Pennsylvania)

STRUCTURED FINANCE

-- New Issue: Capital Auto Receivables Asset Trust 2002-4

LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENTS

-- Western Australia Treasury Corp.