S&P Global Credit Markets Digest -- European Update.

Business Editors

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

Feb. 7, 2003--

EUROPEAN UPDATE:

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

COMING UP

-- United Approaches Aircraft Debt Deadline

-- S&P Announces Methodology Change For Calculating Convexity Risk In Its U.S. Life Insurance Capital Adequacy Model

-- Global Video Game Sector Blasts Into Traditional Toy Industry

-- Industry Report Card: Finance Companies

-- Industry Report Card: Italian Local Government Regions

-- Italian Insurance Market Risk Analysis

UPCOMING TELECONFERENCES:

-- Unfunded Post-Retirement Liabilities Review. Fri., Feb. 7,

9:30 AM

-- Ratings Transitions 2002: U.S. ABS Weather a Turbulent Year.

Tue., Feb. 25, 11 AM

-- NIMS Quarterly Highlights. Thu., Feb. 27, 11 AM

-- Servicer Evaluation Criteria. Tue., March 4, 10:30 AM

-- Global Building Materials Credit Quality. Thu., March 20, 10

AM

-- North American Building Materials, Homebuilder, and Home

Center Retail Credit Quality. Thu., June 12, 10 AM

All times U.S. Eastern. For complete details see ratingsdirect.com or standardandpoors.com

PUBLISHED:

RESEARCH REPORTS

CORPORATES

-- Performance of Europe's Classified Directory Publishers

Continues to Reward Investor Interest

-- Asia Telecommunications: Credit Dynamics and Regional

Differences

-- Hong Kong's Rail Companies on Track for Merger

-- U.S. Public Power 2002 Ratings Round-Up Is Published

-- KeySpan Corp. Raises Its Equity Layer

-- U.S. Gas Distributors Facing Higher Spot Prices

GLOBAL FIXED INCOME

-- Canada Corporate Credit Quality: More of the Same This Year?

-- 2002 Defaults in Profile

-- EU Corporate Credit Quality Faces Another Grim Year

-- Fallen Angels: Short-Term Risk With Long-Term Potential

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE SCORE

-- Fannie Mae Assigned Standard & Poor's First Public U.S.

Corporate Governance Score

FINANCIAL SERVICES

-- Web Page on Financial Sector Ratings in Middle East Set Up on

Occasion of Seminar in Bahrain

-- Rating Methodology Published for Investment Holding and

Operating Holding Companies

-- Industry Report Card Released on Japanese Securities Companies

-- Standard & Poor's Comments on Brazilian Banks: What to Expect

in 2003

INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCE

-- Hong Kong's MTRC and KCRC Merger on Track

STRUCTURED FINANCE

-- Manager Focus Report on Lord Abbett & Co. U.S. High-Yield Fund

Released

-- German RMBS Show Strong Performance and Stability

-- Rating Transitions 2002: A Quarter Century of Outstanding

Credit Performance of U.S. RMBS

-- Despite Gloomy Economic Forecasts, European CDO Market

Expected to Grow in 2003

-- German Securitization Market Position Strengthened by Record

2002 Volumes

-- Ratings Transitions 2002: U.S. ABS Weather a Turbulent Year

-- Quarterly High CLTV Matrix: Ratings Raised For First Time and

Some Lowered Again

-- NIMS Quarterly Highlights: U.S. NIMS Issuance Hits Record in

2002 as Performance Continues to Beat Projections

-- S&P Report Highlights Resilience, Record Volume of Auto ABS

Sector

-- S&P Report Describes Approach to Rating Private Equity CFOs

Using Cash Flow Benchmarks

-- U.S. CMBS Issuance Expected to Be Stable in 2003

RATING ACTIONS

CORPORATE RATINGS

-- Review of Euro Corporate Post-Retirement Liabilities Leads to

10 CreditWatch Negative Listings

-- Westar Energy Inc.'s, Sub's Ratings Affirmed; Removed From

CreditWatch

-- SPX Corp. Ratings Placed on CreditWatch Positive

-- CreditWatch on PDV America and CITGO Changed to Developing

-- HCA Inc. Senior Unsecured Notes Rated 'BBB-'; Other Ratings

Affirmed

-- Rating on Japan's Snow Brand Milk Lowered to 'SD' on Completed

Debt Forgiveness

FINANCIAL SERVICES

-- MetLife Inc.'s 8% Senior Debentures Rated 'A'

-- Gerling-Konzern Allgemeine and Gerling-Konzern Leben Remain on

CreditWatch Developing

-- Achmea Hypotheekbank N.V. 'A/A-1' CCR and 'A+' Secured Debt

Ratings Affirmed; Off Watch

-- FleetBoston Financial Corp. Ratings Affirmed and Removed from

CreditWatch

INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCE

-- South African Energy Co. ESKOM Ratings Affirmed; Local

Currency Outlook Revised to Positive

PUBLIC FINANCE

-- North Carolina Municipal Power Agency No. 1 $732 Million Bonds

Rated 'BBB+'

LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENTS

-- City of Benito Juarez (Cancun) Assigned 'mxA-' National Scale

Rating; Outlook Stable

STRUCTURED FINANCE

-- Japan's Central Leasing Series 9 JPY14. 35 Billion ABS

Assigned Preliminary 'AAA' Ratings

-- Deutsche Bank Establishes New ABCP Conduit

-- Rating on Maximillian Capital Corp. Affirmed at 'A-1' and

Removed from CreditWatch

RESEARCH ANALYSIS

CORPORATES

-- Reed Elsevier PLC

-- Reed Elsevier NV

-- Legrand

-- ATA Holdings Corp.

-- American Restaurant Group Inc.

-- Koninklijke Vendex KBB N.V.

-- OAO NK Yukos

FINANCIAL SERVICES

-- Dhipaya Insurance Public Co. Ltd.

-- Caisse des Depots et Consignations

-- Korea First Bank

-- National Agricultural Cooperative Federation

INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCE

-- Transnet Ltd.

-- Birmingham Airport Holdings Ltd.

Copyright 2003, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services