NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Oct. 24, 2001—Standard&Poor's today lowered Cypress Semiconductor Corp.'s corporate credit rating to double-'B'-minus from double-'B' and lowered its rating on the company's subordinated debt to single-'B' from single-'B'-plus. The outlook is stable. The action recognizes ongoing stresses in the data networking market, leading to debt protection measures that are likely to remain subpar for the former rating over the next several quarters. San Jose, Calif.-based Cypress Semiconductor manufactures specialty memory, timing, and logic semiconductors for the networking, wireless, and computing markets. While the company has strengthened its product portfolio through internal development and acquisitions in the last several quarters, a high percentage of Cypress' revenues are subject to severe pricing pressures and volatile
