In this Issue:
• Sweet November- The Santa Claus rally started early this year, and we don't think
the Grinch will steal Christmas.
• In the Limelight
• STARS Status - Changes in S&P analysts' STARS rankings for November 28 through December 2.
• PepsiCo Is Well Worth Its Salt- We think this company's large array of leading products will help it consistently increase sales and earnings.
• Portfolio Tune-Up Can Ease Tax Bite- By performing an end-of-year review of your portfolio, you may be able to identify tax-swap candidates - stocks that have appreciated or declined significantly in 2005 - and use them to cut taxes and potentially boost next year's returns.
• New Look in Retail: Fashion Brands Multiply- Fashion sellers have been busy augmenting their namesake stores with new chains. We think the trend lessens the risk in catering to fickle shoppers.
• Option Expense Comes Out of the Shadows- We think a mandate to report option expense will improve the accuracy of financial reporting.
• Consider the Choices When Ordering a Trade- We think investors should be well versed in the different types of orders they can place to buy and sell stocks.
• S&P Sector Scorecard

Some of the Companies Featured:
Alcan Inc.
Alleghany Technologies
Altera Corp.
Chesapeake Energy
Cognos Inc.
Family Dollar Stores
Jackson Hewitt Tax Service
Manulife Financial
McData Corp.
Mellon Financial
MGM Mirage
News Corp
Novellus Systems Inc.
PepsiCo
Quest software
Smithfield Foods
Terex Corp
Thor Industries
Tiffany & Co.
Toll Brothers
United Natural Foods
United States Steel
VCA Antech
WGL Holdings

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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.