A company well known for its rating of stocks and bonds according to investment risk (the Standard & Poor's Rating) and for compiling the Standard & Poor's Index—commonly called the Standard & Poor's 500—that tracks 400 industrial stocks, 20 transportation stocks, 40 financial stocks, and 40 public utilities as a measurement indicative of broad changes in the market.

is one of the nation's foremost financial rating agencies. It rates most of the publicly held corporate and municipal bonds and many government issues. The company is also known for its S&P indexes, which are used as a standard to measure investment performance of various groups of stocks.

A provider of a wide variety of investment-related services including rating bonds, stocks, and commercial paper; publishing statistical information and reports; and compiling indexes, including the Standard & Poor's Index of 500 Stocks. See: Moody's Investors Service; Rating; Standard & Poor's 500 Index