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With an average market capitalization exceeding $10 billion, the companies listed in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index are the most-watched in America. The S&P 500 -- are the bluest of blue-chips, stocks that grow and generate increasing dividends every year. Whether you're an investor seeking to make a smart stock purchase, an executive researching corporate competitors, or a job-seeker looking for succinct overviews of potential employers, you'll find critical, often hard-to-find information in Standard & Poor's 500 Guide. Easy-to-use and packed with market intelligence on all the companies listed in the S&P 500 Index, this handy reference includes: -- Buy, sell, or hold recommendations for every stock -- A summary of each company's business activity, recent developments, and sales history -- Company addresses, telephone numbers, and names of key corporate officers -- Earnings, dividends, and 3-year price charts -- Key income and balance sheet statistics -- Exclusive Standard & Poor's rankings (from A+ to D) In addition, unique at-a-glance charts highlight: -- Stocks with A+ earnings and dividend rankings -- Companies with five consecutive years of earnings increases -- Rapid growth stocks -- Companies with fast-rising dividends -- Companies with higher dividends in each of the past 10 years Standard & Poor's, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., is the nation's leading securities information company. It provides a broad range of financial services, including the respected Standard & Poor's ratings and stock rankings, advisory services, data guides, and the most closely watched and widely reported gauges of stock market activity -- the S&P 500, S&P MidCap 400, S&P SmallCap 600, and the S&P Super Composite 1500 stock price indexes. Standard & Poor's products are marketed around the world and used extensively by both financial professionals and individual investors.