NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Aug. 10, 2001NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Aug. 10, 2001—Standard&Poor's today assigned its double-'A'-minus rating to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's $300 million consolidated bonds, series 124. The outlook is stable. The rating on the consolidated bonds reflects the following strengths: -- Bondholders benefit from a first lien that is backed by a strong and diverse pledged revenue stream, plus approximately $1.68 billion in liquid reserves; -- Strong demand in metropolitan New York and New Jersey for the authority's services and facilities; -- Solid financial operations, overall profitability, and debt service coverage; and -- A $9.6 billion five-year capital improvement program (CIP). Credit concerns include: -- Increased political tension at the state level that delayed the
