Standard&Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'AAA' long-term rating to Needham, Mass.' series 2013 general obligation (GO) municipal purpose loan bonds. This action is based on Standard&Poor's recently released local GO criteria. The outlook is stable. At the same time, Standard&Poor's assigned its 'SP-1+' short-term rating to Needham's series 2013 GO bond anticipation notes (BANs), payable on June 2, 2014. The 'SP-1+' rating reflects our view of the town's strong ability to pay principal and interest when the notes come due. Needham's market risk profile is low, in our view, as it a) maintains strong legal authority to issue long-term debt to take out the BANs, and b) is a frequent issuer, providing regular disclosure
