NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Nov. 16, 2001--Standard&Poor's today assigned its preliminary single-'A'-plus rating to Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) Co.'s $500 million Rule 415 shelf filing. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its single-'A'-plus long-term corporate credit and senior unsecured rating as well its 'A-1' short-term corporate credit and commercial paper ratings on the company. The outlook is stable. A continued difficult agricultural operating environment, exacerbated by insufficient returns on recent investments, has reduced ADM's financial flexibility. Still, the ratings are supported by ADM's position as one of the world's leading agribusiness companies, with major market positions in agricultural processing and merchandising as well as industrial production. Standard&Poor's expects that ADM's financial policies will
