On June 11, 2003, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services assigned its preliminary 'AA' senior unsecured debt rating to consumer products manufacturer Kimberly-Clark Corp.'s $1.5 billion Rule 415 shelf registration filed June 10, 2003. This rating has been placed on CreditWatch with negative implications. Kimberly-Clark's 'AA' long-term corporate credit and senior unsecured ratings were already on CreditWatch with negative implications, where they were placed April 15, 2003. The 'A-1+' short-term and commercial paper ratings were affirmed and are not on CreditWatch. Total debt outstanding at Kimberly-Clark was about $3.9 billion at March 31, 2003. The original CreditWatch placement reflected Standard&Poor's concerns about the company's large and growing unfunded postretirement benefit obligation. While ratings have in the past incorporated the
