On Jan. 19, 2006, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services revised its outlook on Loblaw Companies Ltd. and its parent company George Weston Ltd. to negative from stable. At the same time, the ratings on Loblaw, including the 'A' long-term corporate credit rating, and ratings on George Weston, including the 'A-' long-term corporate credit rating, were affirmed. The outlook revision follows the announcement by Loblaw that revenues and earnings will be below expectations for fourth-quarter 2005, (ended Dec. 31, 2005) and also below levels reported in the same quarter of 2004. In addition, same store sales are expected to decline 0.7% in fourth-quarter 2005. Furthermore, the negative outlook reflects Standard&Poor's concerns that improvement in Loblaw's and George Weston's respective
