MCI Communications Corp, Washington gets a clean bill of health from Standard & Poor’s Corp in the wake of its proposed investment of $1,300m cash in Nextel Communications Inc: it affirmed its A-minus senior unsecured long-term debt and A-1 commercial paper ratings on about $1,400m of debt, and says the outlook is positive. It says MCI’s investment in Nextel is speculative, but its ratings anticipate that will invest substantial amounts in ventures with limited near-term cash generating capacity, but with potential for high returns long term.
