LONDON (Standard&Poor's) Aug. 22, 2001--Standard&Poor's today revised the outlook on the Republic of Poland's triple–'B'-plus long-term foreign currency issuer rating to stable from positive. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed all its ratings on the Republic of Poland. The outlook revision reflects the deterioration of Poland's fiscal outlook in the context of a weakening economic environment and the burdensome fiscal costs of recent structural reforms. With economic growth slowing to about 2% this year, down from an initial official forecast of 4.5%, original budget targets for 2001 have become unattainable. In the absence of immediate expenditure cuts, and with tax revenues falling well behind expectations, Standard&Poor's expects a general government deficit of
