NY -- Standard&Poor's CreditWire 7/13/98 -- Standard&Poor's today affirmed its double-'B'-minus rating to Calpine Corp.'s $300 million senior unsecured notes due 2008. In addition, Standard&Poor's affirmed its double-'B'-minus corporate credit rating on Calpine and its double-'B'-minus rating on the company's $560 million senior unsecured notes. The outlook is stable. Calpine used the proceeds of the offering to refinance existing debt, including some nonrecourse debt, and for general corporate purposes. The double-'B'-minus rating reflects the following risks: -- Calpine's already highly leveraged capitalization has increased tom to 79.7% from about 76% on a pro forma basis, thus marginally decreasing financial flexibility; -- Cash balances have dropped to $48.5 million from about US$96 million in 1996,
