On Jan. 26, 2006, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services lowered its ratings on Toronto-based private label soft drink manufacturer Cott Corp. by one notch, including its corporate credit rating, to 'BB-' from 'BB'. At the same time, the ratings were removed from CreditWatch, where they were placed with negative implications Sept. 21, 2005, following the company's announcement of substantially weaker earnings expected for 2005. The outlook is negative. The downgrade reflects Cott's weakened performance in 2005 and Standard&Poor's belief that it will remain a challenge for some time for the company to turn operations around. Cott's operations have been negatively affected by higher fixed and raw material costs, volume softness in the carbonated soft drink (CSD) market, and
