<P> In 1906, Luther Lee Blake founded the Standard Statistics Bureau, with the view to providing financial information on non-railroad companies . Instead of an annually published book, Standard Statistics would use 5 - by - 7 - inch cards, allowing for more frequent updates . </P> <P> In 1941, Paul Talbot Babson purchased Poor's Publishing and merged it with Standard Statistics to become Standard & Poor's Corp . In 1966, the company was acquired by The McGraw - Hill Companies, extending McGraw - Hill into the field of financial information services . </P> <P> As a credit - rating agency (CRA), the company issues credit ratings for the debt of public and private companies, and other public borrowers such as governments and governmental entities . It is one of several CRAs that have been designated a nationally recognized statistical rating organization by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission . </P> <P> S&P issues both short - term and long - term credit ratings . Below is a partial list; see S&P's website for more information . </P>

What is a standard and poor's rating