NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) Nov. 8, 1999--Standard&Poor's today affirmed its ratings on Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. and related entities (see list). At the same time, Standard&Poor's revised its outlook to negative from stable. The rating actions and change in outlook primarily reflect Standard&Poor's growing concerns about Fairfax's profitability, which for the third consecutive quarter has been below expectations. In the first nine months of 1999, Fairfax's pretax earnings (including realized capital gains) have fallen almost 50% from the same period in 1998. The significant drop in earnings reflects decreases in realized capital gains but, more important, also reflects the continuation of disappointing underwriting results in its insurance and reinsurance operations. Underwriting profitability,
