In This Issue:

•Investing at an Inflection Point: In the current climate, seek out quality and yield.
•STARS Status: Changes in S&P analysts' STARS rankings for September 18 through September 22.
•Stocks for Different Stages of Your Life: Where you are in life - and your risk threshold - will help determine the best portfolio.
•TXN on a Roll; Intel Hits a Wall: In this side-by-side comparison, we explain why we favor one of these chip makers over the other.
•Paper and Related Industries: A Mixed Bag
•Master List Stocks Update: Our three supervised Master List groups of stocks, recommended as core holdings for long-term investors, are regularly featured on these two pages. The High-Quality Capital Appreciation Portfolio, highlighted this week, consists mainly of large-cap stocks.
•Harness Our Quant Power: Standard & Poor's Neural Fair Value 25 Portfolio buys what aredeemed undervalued issues with superior return potential.

Some of the Companies Featured:

Abbott Labs
American Eagle Outfitters
Cardinal Health
ConAgra Foods
eBay
ExxonMobil
General Mills
Jo-Ann Stores
McKesson
M.D.C. Holdings
Merck
PNC Financial
Smithfield Foods
Watts Water
Wrigley

S&P Information Products

Browse S&P industry research products by category:

S&P Industry Surveys
S&P Industry Stock Reports
The Outlook
Search Engine Survey
Pocket Guides
Power Picks

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Standard & Poor's is one of the world's preeminent providers of credit ratings, and for such globally recognized financial-market indices as the S&P 500®. S&P also provides a wide range of other products and services designed to help individuals and institutions around the world make better-informed financial decisions with greater confidence.