Only a few business stories in the past few days mention that Standard & Poor’s, which triggered the recent downward movement in stocks with its Friday downgrade of the U.S. government’s credit rating, is a major component of New York Stock Exchange-listed McGraw-Hill Companies, notes Grumpy Editor.
However, the parent company is keeping its distance from the S&P part of the family.
McGraw-Hill’s Web site points out its S&P subsidiary’s “rating decision-making process is separate, fire-walled and independent from the rest of our business.”
And McGraw-Hill, with about 21,000 employees and more than 280 offices in 40 countries, this week underscores that, emphasizing the parent company had no involvement or knowledge of S&P’s U.S. credit rating downgrade.
McGraw-Hill stock itself isn’t immune from taking a major hit from the collateral damage.
Trading around $44 a share a week ago, it closed on the NYSE yesterday at $35.35, down $2.21 or 5.88 percent for the day.
Aside from S&P, McGraw-Hill’s leading brands include McGraw-Hill Education, Platts energy information services and J.D. Power and Associates.
Among its media operations: Aviation Week and McGraw-Hill Broadcasting Group composed of four ABC-affiliated television stations: KMGH, Denver; WRTV, Indianapolis; KGTV, San Diego and KERO, Bakersfield, Calif.
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