Measuring Bond Value  Bond Ratings  As with stocks, the strength
of the issuer greatly affects a bond's quality. With the
exception of the U.S. Treasury, issuers introduce credit risk,
or the risk that a bond will go into default. This happens when
the bond issuer is unable to pay interest or fails to repay
principal at maturity.  Bond rating companies, like Standard &
Poor's, Moody's Investors Service, Inc., and Fitch Ratings,
research and rate bonds by concentrating primarily on assessing
their credit risk. Rating services look at the financial
stability of the issuer, its other outstanding debt (if any),
its growth potential, the state of the economy, and how well
similar entities -companies in the same line of business or
municipal governments in the same condition - are doing. They
assign ratings to municipal, corporate and international bonds
to help you make informed investment decisions. Treasury bonds
are not rated because they are the only debt instruments assumed
to be free of credit risk.  Rating