Standard & Poor's Begins Services for 5 Brokerage Firms Under Global Research Settlement NEW YORK, July 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Broadening the audience for its equity research, Standard & Poor's today began delivery of stock research and recommendations to five brokerage firms who, under the terms of the Global Research Settlement, will use the investment research leader as a core provider of independent equity research. Standard & Poor's Equity Research was selected by independent consultants representing Citigroup Smith Barney, Credit Suisse First Boston, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Piper Jaffray under the terms of the Global Research Settlement involving major investment banks and federal and state regulatory agencies. In addition to direct engagements with these banks, which encompass more than 11 million customer accounts, Standard & Poor's equity research will also be available to other banks in the settlement through BNY Jaywalk, a research aggregation platform hosted by the Bank of New York. "Standard & Poor's is delighted to serve these new customers and looks forward to providing them and their investor clients with the kind of independent and high-quality equity research that we have been delivering to more than 1,000 institutions and their clients for decades," says Hendrik Kranenburg, executive vice president, Standard & Poor's. "We recognize that the independent consultants had to choose among a field of many different kinds of research providers. Selecting S&P is a recognition of our performance track record, our consistent methodologies, and our long experience serving investors directly." "Standard & Poor's Equity Research stands apart for three reasons: the depth and breadth of our coverage, the experience of our global team of 90 equity analysts, and our excellent track record of performance, said Sandy Bragg, Executive Managing Director, Standard & Poor's. "We also have a history of offering new analytical insights, such as S&P Core Earnings analysis. We're committed to helping these firms deliver on the letter and the spirit of the settlement by providing their clients with investment research that helps them achieve their financial goals." Standard & Poor's also introduced today a new version of Stock Reports, its flagship equity research offering for retail investors and investment advisors, on the U.S. stocks covered by its equity research analysts. The new Stock Reports include 12-month target prices that accompany the STARS "buy-sell-hold" recommendation, and earnings-per-share estimates based on S&P Core Earnings methodology. The reports also feature a redesigned presentation of the data and research in the reports, and include suggestions based on market research that S&P conducted with investment advisors and investors over the past year. Through the terms of the agreements with the investment banks, investors will have access to research from Standard & Poor's team of 90 highly qualified U.S., European and Asian equity analysts, who use a fundamental, bottom-up approach to cover a global universe of 1,750 equities across more than 120 industries. Its U.S. equity analysts cover 1,500 stocks with "buy-sell-hold recommendations" and issue approximately 10,500 research notes on those companies per year. Standard & Poor's will provide each investment bank with buy-hold-sell recommendations on stocks covered by each bank's own equity analysts, as well as data feeds designed to help power the banks' investor Web sites, client statements, and trade confirmations. About Standard & Poor's Standard & Poor's, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP), is the foremost provider of independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research, data and valuations. With 5,000 employees located in 20 countries, Standard & Poor's is an essential part of the world's financial infrastructure and has played a leading role for more than 140 years in providing investors with the independent benchmarks they need to feel more confident about their investment and financial decisions. For more information, visit http://www.standardandpoors.com/ . The equity research reports and recommendations provided by Standard & Poor's Equity Research Services are prepared separately from any other analytic activity of Standard & Poor's. In this regard, Standard & Poor's Equity Research Services has no access to non-public information received by other units of Standard & Poor's. Standard & Poor's does not trade for its own account. DATASOURCE: Standard & Poor's CONTACT: John J. Piecuch Communications Manager Standard & Poor's +1-212-438-1102 Web site: http://www.standardandpoors.com/

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