21.  Lower ratings make fund-raising more costly for the bank, since investors take on more risk.

22.  Merrill Lynch analyst Jessica Reif Cohen said lower ratings for "Millionaire" will help drive operating income up 5 percent at the media networks division.

23.  Moody's evaluates the bonds of 40 states, and it has given only Louisiana's a lower rating than New York's.

24.  Money, in the form of lower ratings, always talks in TV land.

25.  Ms. Cregger said the lower rating would reduce the number of investors bidding for Nassau's short-term notes and increase the county's costs.

26.  NBC shuffled "Mad About You" to Sundays and Fox installed "Martin" on Saturdays, switches that only resulted in lower ratings.

27.  NBC canceled "Built to Last" last week after the show garnered lower ratings than programs on fledgling networks UPN and The WB.

28.  NBC will now have to sell those games based on the lower ratings from Sydney.

29.  News of the lower rating and reorganization plan caused Cigna stock to drop sharply in heavy trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

30.  No show on Fox, NBC, ABC or CBS had lower ratings.