On July 26, 2002, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services lowered to triple-'B' plus from single-'A'-minus its long-term corporate credit rating on France-based Cap Gemini S.A., the largest European consulting and IT services provider. The outlook remains stable. The downgrade primarily reflects Cap Gemini's weakened profitability and ongoing restructuring costs in the challenging global IT services and consulting environment. Significantly reduced corporate IT spending worldwide further pressured revenues and margins in the first half of 2002. Cap Gemini's like-for-like revenues fell 14.5% over the period, while the EBITA margin tumbled to just 0.3%, from 6.1% and 8.5% in first-half 2001 and 2000, respectively. The challenging integration of Ernst&Young's consulting activities still requires keen management focus in a context of
