On Oct. 23, 2003, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services revised its outlook on Markel Corp. (NYSE:MKL) to stable from positive. At the same time, Standard & Poor's affirmed its ratings on MKL (see ratings list). The outlook revision follows MKL's recent announcement that it will report an unexpected reserve strengthening charge of $105 million in the third quarter of 2003, which is expected to result in an after-tax net loss of $15 million-$20 million for the quarter. Because of this charge, Standard & Poor's expects MKL's 2003 earnings to fall below its expectations. In addition, Standard & Poor's is concerned that reserve strengthening could continue to be a drag on MKL's operating results over the medium term, given significant reserving
