In This Issue:

•Ninth Inning Comeback: Does the S&P 500's positive start to 2007 point to further equity price appreciation?

•STARS Status: Changes in S&P analysts' STARS rankings for January 29 through February 2.

•Funds with Consistently Good Performance: A Standard & Poor's scorecard highlights mutual funds that have steadily beaten their peers over the past five years.

•M&A: The Elusive Quest for Value: Standard & Poor's sees merger activity heating up in 2007.

•Think Big: Mutual funds? ETFs? Individual stocks? Whatever your flavor, here are our top picks in large-cap growth.

•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 Small/Mid-Cap Growth Portfolio is highlighted this week.

•Industry Momentum Portfolio: This Standard & Poor's portfolio identifies industries with the potential for above-average price performance.

Some of the Companies Featured:

Apple
Automatic Data Processing
Boeing
Carlisle
Coach
Constellation Brands
Disney
FactSet Research
Franklin Resources
Johnson & Johnson
Landstar System
Nucor
PetSmart
Procter & Gamble
Texas Instruments

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

About Standard & Poor's

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.