S&P Global Credit Markets Digest -- Asia-Pacific Update.

Business Editors

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

Oct. 4, 2002--ASIA-PACIFIC UPDATE

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

COMING UP:

-- United American Energy Gains Strength Through a Strategic Acquisition

-- Is State Utility Regulation Coming Back Into Vogue?

-- Near-Term Global Tobacco Outlook Remains Stable

-- Germany's E.ON AG Acquires LG&E Energy

-- Monthly U.S. Energy Commodity Pricing Report

-- Property Tax: The Underused Tax of Mexican Municipalities

-- European Local Government Financing Systems

-- Analytical Tools and Methodologies for Assessing U.S. Utilities

-- The Credit Costs of Partial Electric Restructuring

PUBLISHED:

RESEARCH REPORTS

CORPORATES

-- Standard & Poor's Identifies Global Bond Markets' Weakest

Links

-- Industry Report Card Released on European Media &

Entertainment, Leisure, and Lodging

-- U.S. Capital Goods Recovery Blurred by Unclear Economic Data

-- Industry Report Card: Japanese Real Estate Companies

-- U.S. Energy Commodity Pricing Assumptions Are Revised

-- European Utility Ratings Continue to Slide

-- Europe's Homebuilders Capitalize on Strong Housing Markets

GLOBAL FIXED INCOME RESEARCH

-- Standard & Poor's Identifies 'Waiting to Exhale' List

FINANCIAL SERVICES

-- Criteria for Lloyd's Syndicate Assessments

-- Taiwan Brings Fresh Impetus to Asian Securitization Market

-- Report: Methodological Framework Outlined for Canadian

Stability Ratings

-- Bank Industry Risk Analysis: Japan

-- Unemployment More Critical for Hong Kong Banks Than Falling

Home Values

PUBLIC FINANCE

-- Report Discusses Stresses Affecting Public Pension Funds

-- U.S. Housing Finance Agency Financial Ratios: Positive Results

in Changing Times

-- Managing Negative Arbitrage in Housing Bonds

SOVEREIGNS

-- Capital Market Trends in the Gulf Cooperation Council

Countries

-- Asia: External Strength Can Mask Internal Weakness

-- Sovereign Defaults Set to Rise Further in 2003

STRUCTURED FINANCE

-- Manager Focus Report on BlackRock Financial's U.S. High Yield

Fund Released

-- European CLOs of Loans to SMEs Show Strong Performance Despite

Threat of Potential Negative Credit Migration

-- ABS East Conference: S&P CDO Analysts Continue to Stress

Importance of Collateral-Mgr Scrutiny

-- European CDO Transactions Embrace Synthetic Technology

-- Version 2 of Standard & Poor's CDO Evaluator Sets a New

Standard in CDO Analyses

-- European SIV Managers Look to the Expanding Credit

-- Derivatives Market as Investment Options

-- Analytical Treatment of Mismatched Mandatory Convertible Debt

RATING ACTIONS

CORPORATE RATINGS

-- Alcoa of Australia's Long-Term Rating Lowered to 'A'; Outlook

Stable

-- Liz Claiborne Inc.'s Proposed $750M Unsecured Bank Facility

Rated 'BBB'

-- Viasystems Group Inc. Ratings Lowered to 'D' on Bankruptcy

Filing

-- Guidant Ratings Affirmed; Outlook Revised to Negative

-- IPALCO Enterprises Inc.'s, Sub's Ratings Lowered to 'BB+' on

AES Corp. Downgrade

-- AES Corp. Rating Lowered to 'B+'; Placed on CreditWatch

Negative

-- Telewest Corporate Credit Ratings Cut to 'SD' After Interest

Payments Withheld

-- Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Outlook Revised to Negative on

Revenue Drop in September Quarter

-- Emerson Electric Co.'s $250 Million Senior Unsecured Notes

Rated 'A', Ratings Affirmed

-- Wal-Mart Funding Corp. Commercial Paper Program Placed on

CreditWatch Negative

-- Autolink Concessionaires (M6) PLC 'BBB+' Underlying and 'AAA'

Insured Bond Rtgs Affirmed

-- Railtrack PLC's 'BB+/B' Rtgs Withdrawn Following Takeover by

Network Rail

-- JSC Vimpel-Communications Outlook Revised to Positive from

Stable; Ratings Affirmed

-- Ratings on Malaysian Power Company Tenaga Affirmed at 'BBB';

Outlook Stable

-- Taiwan's Compal Electronics' US$300 Mil. Bonds Due 2007 Rated

'BBB-'

-- Goodrich Corp. Corporate Credit Rating Lowered to 'BBB', Off

Watch; Outlook Stable

-- Dyckerhoff's Long-Term Rating Lowered to 'BB', Short-Term to

'B'; Off Watch; Outlook Stable

FINANCIAL SERVICES RATINGS

-- Swiss Reinsurance Co and Core Subsidiaries Ratings Lowered to

'AA+'; Off Watch; Outlook Stable

-- NRMA Insurance Ratings Lowered to 'AA'; Outlook Stable

-- Ratings on Credit Suisse Group and Related Entities Placed On

CreditWatch Negative

-- Long-Term Ratings on PHH Corp. Lowered and Removed from

CreditWatch

-- Outlook on Comercia Inc. Revised to Negative; Ratings Affirmed

-- CIGNA Corp. and Subsidiary Ratings Lowered and Removed from

CreditWatch; Outlook Stable

STRUCTURED FINANCE RATINGS

-- J.P. Morgan Commercial Mortgage Finance Corp. Ratings Affirmed

on Series 1999-C8

-- HomEq Mortgage Pass-Through Certificate Ratings Affirmed on 20

Classes

-- Rating Lowered on CDO Master Investments C Notes due to

Deteriorating Portfolio; A, B Affirmed

-- CS First Boston Mortgage Securities Corp. Ratings Raised and

Affirmed on Series 1995-WF1

-- Ratings on Six Classes of TCW LINC III CBO Ltd. Put on

CreditWatch; A-1L Rating Affirmed

PUBLIC FINANCE

-- North Oakland Medical Center, MI Debt Rating Removed From

Watch Negative; Lowered to 'BB'

-- TBTA's $262 Million Series 2002D Subordinate Revenue Bonds

Rated 'A+'

LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENTS

-- State of Yucatan and City of Merida, Mexico Ratings Not

Affected by "Isidore"

RESEARCH ANALYSIS

CORPORATES

-- National Thermal Power Corp.

-- Duquesne Light Co.

-- Husky Energy Inc.

-- Fuji Photo Film Co. Ltd.

-- United Globalcom Inc.

-- Invensys PLC

-- PG&E National Energy Group Inc.

-- Statoil ASA

FINANCIAL SERVICES

-- Hartford Life Insurance Co. Intercompany Pool

-- Pacific Guardian Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

-- Vseobecna Uverova Banka, a.s.

-- Caisse Centrale de Reassurance

-- GE Mortgage Insurance Pty Ltd.

-- Health Net of California Inc. and Other Key Subsidiaries of

Health Net Inc.

-- Providian Financial Corp.

-- Credit Municipal de Paris

LOCAL & REGIONAL GOVERNMENTS

-- State of Tlaxcala, Mexico

-- Boulogne-Billancourt (City of)

-- City of Hermosillo, Mexico

STRUCTURED FINANCE

-- New Issue: Centex Home Equity Loan Trust 2002-C

-- New Issue: Stanfield Victoria Finance Ltd.

-- New Issue: Impac CMB Trust Series 2002-5

-- New Issue: F.A.B. CBO 2002-1 B.V.

-- New Issue: DaimlerChrysler Auto Trust 2002-B

-- New Issue: 2002-CB4 Trust

Copyright 2002, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services