RATINGS

An evaluation of credit quality  Moody's, S&P, and Fitch Investors Service give to companies used by investors and analysts.

Refers to the ratings of credit quality published by the independent rating agencies, the largest of which are Moody’s Investors Service, Standard and Poor’s and Fitch Investors Service. Triple-A ratings are the highest quality rating from all three. Each rating agency uses their own criteria to rate an issue, but generally speaking, the ratings are based on the ability of an issuer to pay the debt, and the amount of protection that is provided to bondholders should the issuer experience adverse financial conditions. The lower the rating, the more speculative elements there may be in an issuer’s financial condition.