Following are three S&P Bond ratings ( S&P is the rating agency): BBB,
BB+ and BBB-.  Give me in slight detail as to what each rating means. 
What I want to know is that which one of these ratings is the best and
which is the worst etc.

P.S:  S&P's website might help.

Hi there,

You were correct, I found the answer by browsing S&P's website.

BOND FUND CREDIT QUALITY RATING DEFINITIONS
-------------------------------------------

AAAf
The fund’s portfolio holdings provide extremely strong protection
against losses from credit defaults.

AAf
The fund’s portfolio holdings provide very strong protection against
losses from credit defaults.

Af
The fund’s portfolio holdings provide strong protection against losses
from credit defaults.

BBBf
The fund’s portfolio holdings provide adequate protection against
losses from credit defaults.

BBf
The fund’s portfolio holdings provide uncertain protection against
losses from credit defaults.

Bf
The fund’s portfolio holdings exhibit vulnerability to losses from
credit defaults.

CCCf
The fund’s portfolio holdings make it extremely vulnerable to losses
from credit defaults.
http://www2.standardandpoors.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=sp/sp_article/ArticleTemplate&c=sp_article&cid=1021558138675&s=&ig=&b=2&dct=26

The page lists all of their ratings. They say:

"The ratings from ‘Aaf’ to ‘CCCf’ may be modified by the addition of a
plus (+) or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the major
rating categories."

So the best rating of the three you mentioned is BBB, followed by
BBB-, then BB+.


Search strategy: I used this search form at S&P's site:
http://www2.standardandpoors.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=sp/Page/FixedIncomeRatingsCriteriaPg&l=ENG&b=2&f=&s=&ig=&i=&r=1&fr=1&ft=26&fs=&fig=


Best wishes,
robertskelton-ga

Thanx so much!