On May 8, 2003, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on Oakbrook, Ill.-based McDonald's Corp. to 'A' from 'A+', and lowered its subordinated debt rating to 'A-' from 'A'. The ratings are removed from CreditWatch, where they had been placed Nov. 11, 2002, with negative implications. The short-term corporate credit and commercial paper ratings on McDonald's were affirmed at 'A-1'. Approximately $10.0 billion of debt was outstanding at Dec. 31, 2002. The outlook is negative. The downgrade is based on McDonald's disappointing results in 2002, and Standard&Poor's opinion that management faces significant challenges in successfully implementing a number of important strategic changes that are designed to revitalize McDonald's worldwide
