subscription service

Title: Financial Ratings & Research Requirement Response Date: Five (5) business days from issuance Description: This is a NOTICE OF INTENT TO ISSUE A SOLE SOURCE PURCHASE ORDER/AWARD. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for a commercial subscription service prepared in accordance with format in the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Subpart 12.6, as supplementd with additional information included in this solicitation. USAD intends to award a sole source purchase order to Fitch Information, Inc. (Fitch), One State Street Plaza, 33 Floor, New York, N.Y. 10001. Fitch is the sole proprietor for Fitch Bank Analysis Services, and provides vital credit research, peer analysis, and industry and market reports. Their service provides an opinion on the relative ability of an entity to meet its financial commitments such as interest, preferred dividends, repayment of principal, insurance claims, or counterparty obligations. Fitch's credit ratings will be used by the USDA Foreign Agriculture Service as indications of the likelihood of receiving Government money back in accordance with the terms of which it invested. Fitch's global ratings cover the global spectrum of corporate, sovereign, financial, bank, insurance, municipal and other public finance entities and the securitues or backed by receivables or other financial assets. The use of credit ratings defines their functions: "investment grade" ratings (International Long term, 'AAA' to 'BBB'; Short-term, 'F1' to'F3') indicate relatively low to moderate credit risk, while those in the "speculative" or "non investment grade" categories (International Long-term, 'BB+' to 'D'; Short-term, 'B' to'D') either signal a higher level of credit risk in relative rank order, whichis to say they are ordinal measures of credit risk and are not predicative of a specific frequency of default or loss. Fitch International credit ratings assess the capacity to meet foreign currency or local currrency commitments. Both "foreign currency" and "local currency" ratings are international comparable assessments. The company also provides Individual and Support ratings of banks, which pinpoint the likelihood that a bank will get into difficulties, and in that event, whether it will indeed receive external support. The Foriegn Agriculture Service has utilized the professional credit rating servicesof Fitch for the past four years, with satisfactory results. This solicitationincorporates provisions and clauses in effect through Federal Circular 97-04. The provision at FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors Commercial, applies to this acquisition. A completed copy of the provision at FAR 542.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications Commercial Items must be included with the offer. The clause at FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. The clause at FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition, including 52.212-3, Contract Labor; 52.222-19, Child Labor-Cooperation with Authorities and Remedies, 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities; 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity; 52.222-35, Affirmative Action for Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities; 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Disabled Veterans; 52.222-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer Central Contractor Registration (31 U.S.C. 332); 52.225-3, Buy AmericaAct-Free Trade Agreements-obtained at website http://www.arnet.gov/far. Only offerors registered in the Central Contractor Registrar are eligible for award. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive quotations. Interested partiesmay identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirement or submit quotations. All quotes must be received fifeteen (15) calendar days COB eastern time, after the posting of this notice; however, a determination by the Government not to compete this proposed purchase order based upon responses to this notice is solely with the Government discretion. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.