NY -- Standard&Poor's CreditWire 2/10/98 -- Standard&Poor's today lowered its senior unsecured debt and corporate credit rating on Minnesota Mining&Manufacturing Co. (3M) to double-'A' from triple-'A'. Standard&Poor's also affirmed its 'A-1'-plus commercial paper rating on 3M. The downgrade reflects a moderate shift in the company's historically conservative financial policy to a greater emphasis on shareholder returns, resulting in somewhat higher leverage and a moderate decline in still very strong debt protection measures. 3M produces over 60,000 products for the industrial, consumer and life sciences markets. 3M excels at developing new products, leveraging off key core technologies such as adhesives, films and memory technologies. As a result, returns on capital are consistently at
