NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) April 28, 2008--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that its rating and outlook for Benton Harbor, Mich.-based Whirlpool Corp. (BBB/Stable/A-2) are unaffected by the company's weaker-than-expected first quarter earning for fiscal 2008. The earnings were significantly below our previous expectations primarily due to weak demand in North America and higher raw material costs, the latter of which are expected to increase substantially for the full year 2008. The company's lower earnings expectations, together with somewhat elevated debt levels following its recent $500 million debt issuance and seasonal increase in short-term borrowings, have resulted in weakened credit measures, including debt to EBITDA of about 2.5x, and funds from operations (FFO) to total debt of about
