•This
presentation includes certain forward-looking statements about the Company’s
businesses, new products,
sales, expenses, tax rates, cash flows, prepublication investments and
operating and capital requirements.
Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the strength
and sustainability of the
U.S. and global economy; Educational Publishing’s level of success in 2007
adoptions and in open territories
and enrollment and demographic trends; the level of educational funding; the strength of School Education, Higher Education,
Professional and International publishing markets and the impact of technology on them; the level of interest
rates and the strength of the economic recovery, profit levels and the capital markets in the U.S. and abroad;
the level of success of new product development and global expansion and strength of domestic and
international markets; the demand and market for debt ratings, including collateralized debt obligations
(CDO), residential mortgage and asset-backed securities and related asset classes; the regulatory environment
affecting Standard & Poor’s; the level of merger and acquisition activity in the U.S. and abroad; the
strength of the domestic and international advertising markets; the volatility of the energy marketplace; the
contract value of public works, manufacturing and single-family unit construction; the level of political
advertising; and the level of future cash flow, debt levels, product-related manufacturing expenses,
distribution expenses, prepublication, amortization and depreciation expense, income tax rates, capital,
technology, restructuring charges and other expenditures and prepublication cost investment.
•Actual results
may differ materially from those in any forward-looking statements because any
such statements involve
risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based upon various important
factors, including, but not
limited to, worldwide economic, financial, political and regulatory
conditions; currency and foreign
exchange volatility; the health of capital and equity markets, including
future interest rate changes and
concerns regarding the credit quality of subprime mortgages adversely
impacting future debt issuances of
U.S. residential mortgage backed securities and CDOs backed by subprime
residential mortgages
and related asset classes; the implementation of an expanded regulatory scheme
affecting Standard & Poor’s
ratings and services; the level of funding in the education market (both
domestically and internationally);
the pace of recovery in advertising; continued investment by the construction,
computer and aviation
industries; the successful marketing of new products, and the effect of
competitive products and pricing.