3M Co. has announced that it is revising its financial policy and capital structure and allocation strategy to allow for increased debt and shareholder-friendly actions and acquisitions. Although we view the company's business risk profile as "strong" and the financial profile as "minimal," we now consider the financial policy as a negative rating factor. We are affirming the 'AA-' corporate credit rating and removing the rating from CreditWatch, where we had placed it on Nov. 26, 2013 with positive implications in connection with the publication of our revised corporate criteria. The stable outlook reflects our view that the company's cash generation capabilities will remain fundamentally strong even in the face of global economic weakness and that even with the revised
