NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Oct. 26, 2010--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said that the Oct. 25, 2010 downgrade of Assured Guarantee Corp. (AGC; AA+/Stable/--) does not affect the ratings on M-S-R Energy Authority's Series 2009 Bonds (A/Negative). Bondholders rely on an AGC-issued surety policy to fund debt service in case a municipal participant defaults. Each policy is equal to the maximum two monthly gas volumes for the municipal participant at $25 per million Btu. The downgrade of AGC reflects Standard&Poor's opinion of a struggling financial guarantee market, the company's weak statutory operating performance, and the quality of the company's capital within our capital adequacy analysis. (See "Assured Guaranty Corp. And Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp. Ratings Lowered To