On March 18, 2009, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services lowered its corporate credit and senior unsecured ratings on St. Paul, Minn.-based 3M Co. to 'AA-' from 'AA'. At the same time, we affirmed the 'A-1+' short-term credit rating. The outlook is stable. The downgrade reflects a decline in still very strong debt-protection measures as a result of the weakened global economic environment that has trimmed EBITDA levels, along with rising debt levels. With the recent issuance of about $1.7 billion of debt, which enhanced liquidity, and significant growth in its tax-adjusted unfunded pension liabilities, the company's total debt to EBITDA rose to 1.4x at year-end 2008 versus 0.8x in the previous year. We do not expect any material deleveraging over
