LONDON (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) April 11, 2001--Standard&Poor's today lowered its long- and short-term ratings on U.K. retailer Marks&Spencer PLC and related entities to single-'A' from double-'A'-minus, and to 'A-1' from 'A-1+', respectively. The ratings were removed from CreditWatch, where they were placed with negative implications on Jan. 24, 2001. The outlook is stable. (See list below for all ratings.) The rating downgrades reflect the continuing underperformance of the group's core U.K. clothing business, together with the shift to a more aggressive financial policy with its announcement of a £2 billion ($2.9 billion) share buyback, which forms part of a wide-ranging strategic review. Over the key Christmas trading period, like-for-like sales for the 16-week period to
