Consolidated Edison Inc

  

Consolidated Edison Inc. (Ticker: ED) has an A- long-term credit rating from Standard & Poors,and a 50% net debt to capitalization ratio. ED is a regulated electric utility serving the New Yorkmetropolitan area. Newmont Mining Corp. (Ticker: NEM) has a BBB+ long-term credit ratingfrom Standard & Poors (a small difference from the rating on ED), and a 9% net debt tocapitalization ratio, substantially lower than EDs. NEM is a global mining company. Discussthe factors that may explain the similarity in credit quality but large differences in financialleverage.Summary information on each company can be found at either finance.yahoo.com (use theticker symbol provided above for each company;