S&P Lwrs Rtg on PreferredPLUS Tr Ser CTR-1; OffWatch

    NEW YORK--Standard & Poor's--Jan. 17, 2002-- Standard & Poor's today lowered its triple-'B'-plus rating on PreferredPLUS Trust Series CTR-1 to triple-'B' and removed it from CreditWatch with negative implications, where it was placed on Nov. 7, 2001.
    The lowered rating reflects the lowering of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.'s long-term corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on Jan. 15, 2002, at which time the ratings were also removed from CreditWatch negative. The downgrade of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. was based on Standard & Poor's belief that difficult industry conditions will prevent the company from achieving the improvement in financial measures factored into the previous ratings.
    PreferredPLUS Trust Series CTR-1 is a swap-independent synthetic transaction that is weak-linked to the underlying collateral, Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. debt. The lowered rating reflects the credit quality of the underlying securities issued by Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.
    A copy of the related press release, dated Jan. 15, 2002 can be found on RatingsDirect, Standard & Poor's Web-based credit analysis system.

RATING LOWERED AND REMOVED FROM CREDITWATCH NEGATIVE

PreferredPLUS Trust Series CTR-1
$31.2 million corporate bond-backed certs

                      Rating
                To              From
Certificates    BBB             BBB+/Watch Neg