Anaheim Placed on S&P Credit Watch List

ANAHEIM, CA-Debt-rating giant Standard & Poor’s has put this tourism Mecca’s debt on its “credit watch” list, the latest sign that last month’s terrorist attacks on the East Coast are having a ripple effect across the nation’s economy.

Attendance at Disneyland and other once-popular Anaheim venues has dropped sharply over the past few weeks, as business and leisure travelers alike cancel their planned trips in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. Consultants at Ernst & Young’s Hospitality Group earlier this week said the city’s hotel-occupancy rate has been cut nearly in half, to a mere 42%.