Standard & Poor’s Standard & Poor’s is a financial services company. It is a leading provider of financial market intelligence and the world’s foremost source of credit ratings, indices, investment research, risk evaluation and data. They also provide financial decision-makers with the intelligence they need to feel confident about their invest decisions. The products and services it provides is credit rating, equity research, S&P indices, funds ratings, risk solutions, governance services, evaluations, and data services. Standard & Poor’s serves institutional professionals, financial institutions, corporations, financial advisors, and individual investors worldwide. It is a division of McGraw-Hill that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks and bonds. Standard & Poor’s is well known for the stock market indexes, the US-based S&P 500, the Australian S&P/ASX 200, the Canadian S&P/TSX, the Italian S&P/MIB, and India’s S&P CNX Nifty. In 1860 Standard & Poor’s traced its origins to the publication of Henry Varnum Poor’s History of Railroads and Canals in the United States. This was the first major attempt to compile a comprehensive account of both the financial and operational details of U.S. railroads, the largest and most capital-intense industry in the U.S. In 1868 the Manual of the Railroads of the United States was published. Within a few months, they sold all 2,500 copes of the first issue. The manual was updated annually with keeping investors current and allowing them to chart a companies progress of the years. The Standard Statistics Bureau was formed to provide previously unavailable financial information on U.S. companies in 1906 by Lee Blake to provide financial information on non-railroad companies. Standard Statistics merged with Poor’s Publishing forming Standard & Poor’s corporation in 1941. The first president was Clayton A. Penhale. A new Bond Guide was published that carried a list of about 7,000 municipal bond ratings. It was primarily devoted to statistics and quality rating for corporate bonds. In 1942 World War II caused difficulties in maintaining manpower and obtaining paper. Standard & Poor’s managed to grow in terms of revenue and number of employees from the low levels of the post-depression years despite these difficulties. Direct mailing was explored and it greatly expanded the subscriber base for Standard & Poor’s and it also helped sell other services offered by Standard & Poor’s. The volume of Standard & Poor’s combined subscription business passed the $ 5 million mark in 1950. This number doubled over the next nine years. In 1966 McGraw-Hill companies acquired Standard & Poor’s, which expanded McGraw-Hill into the field of financial information services. The committee for Uniform Security Identification Procedures (CUSIP) numbering system was published in 1969. This became the standard identifier for all securities. Without CUSIP it would be impossible for Wall Street to handle enormous trading volume that occurs daily. Standard & Poor’s began charging issuers for corporate ratings in 1974. The Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (NRSRO) by the SEC designated Standard & Poor’s in 1976. This resulted in the Commission recognizing
is Standard & Poor’s opinion of the general creditworthiness of an obligor, or the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a particular debt security or other financial obligation, based on relevant risk factors. A rating does not constitute a recommendation to purchase, sell, or hold a particular security. In addition, a rating does not comment on the suitability of an investment for a particular investor. The Big Three The Big Three By 2008 Results Fitch Moody's Standard & Poor's Employees…
resulted in saving thousands of American jobs. Obama’s support for small businesses has allowed them to grow. He has also cut small business taxes 18 times. New businesses and enterprises and the Standard & Poor’s 500 have increased by 90% since March 2009 because of Obama’s support. The Standard &Poor’s 500 is a stock market index based on the common stock prices of 500 top publicly traded American companies. Obama is trying his very best to help the middle and lower class. Obama…
Midland Energy Resources, Inc: Cost of Capital Executive Summary: In order to estimate cost of capital, data was utilized from Midland’s financial statements, Standard & Poor’s ratings, Treasury bonds, and comparables. Cost of capital for Midland’s consolidated company and the three divisions, Exploration & Production (E & P), Refining and Marketing (R & M), and Petrochemicals were calculated to be 8.61%, 8.57%, 9.62% and 6.06%, respectively. A marginal tax rate of 35% and a…
General Environment Economic factors. Major economic key indicators such as gross domestic product (GDP), consumer income, the Consumer Price Index, consumer confidence, unemployment rate, consumer spending, stimulus and tax breaks, and lending standards, stock market, housing, etc. have great influence on a company’s performance and therefore need to be studied and analyzed by managers. GDP. In the second quarter of 2014, US economy grew much faster than expected. According to the Bureau of Economic…
Fin. 5312—100 Corporate Finance Professor Megginson February 17, 2013 ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- Case 2: Williams, 2002 ------------------------------------------------- Introduction In 2001, the Tulsa, Oklahoma, Williams Company was in financial distress. The primarily energy-industry company was struggling with a shrinking energy trading market, which was…
banks and switched it to government. Afterwards, the debt crisis of Ireland and Portugal getting worst, financial crisis began to spread to the core countries from the surrounding countries. 5 August 2011, US credit rating downgraded to AA+ by Standard & Poor’s. (the guardian, 2011). This rise the borrowing costs for the American government companies and consumers and also led to unpredictable turbulence in global financial market. Government’s irresponsibility: Obama queried: ‘Do you think we got…
New Style Fresh Look is a recent (last summer) start-up manufacturer of an upscale clothing line targeted at males between the ages of 18 and 35. New Look not only develops the clothing line, but supports it with advertising and promotion campaigns. The company plans to strengthen its partnership with retailers by developing brand awareness. New Style Fresh Look intends to market its line as an alternative to existing clothing lines, and differentiate itself by marketing strategies, exclusiveness…
management, said the problem was merely a disagreement over FASB accounting standards, but in December, the Securities and Exchange Commission ruled that Fannie Mae would have to restate the past 3 1/2 years of earnings, potentially losing $9 billion of earnings over that timeframe, and possibly necessitating increased capitalization. This has not yet impacted the stock price for Fannie Mae, but Moody's and Standard and Poor's have downgraded some of Fannie Mae's subordinate debt. Given the large percentage…
0677806 HRT 244B Professor Frye Managing Insurance HomeworkDescribe the importance of mathematics and statistics to the insurance industry. Be sure to explain the roles that underwrites, agents, actuaries, premiums, and risk play in the insurance process. The use of mathematics and statistics is utilized in the insurance industry in order to be protected against financial risk. An insurance industry is built on the use of the following fundamental premises: underwrites, actuaries, agents, premiums…