NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) Feb. 19, 1999--Standard&Poor's today assigned its preliminary single-'A'-plus/single-'A' senior/subordinated debt rating to Nike Inc.'s $300 million shelf registration. The rating is placed on CreditWatch with negative implications. Standard&Poor's outstanding single-'A'-plus long-term corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings for Nike remain on CreditWatch with negative implications, where they were placed July 9, 1998. The 'A-1' short-term corporate credit and commercial paper ratings for the company were affirmed. The short-term ratings are not on CreditWatch. The CreditWatch listings reflect Standard&Poor's expectation that operating results and credit measures will continue to be below previously expected levels due to ongoing softness in the U.S. athletic footwear and apparel markets and very
