As a Bond's Rating Serves as an Indicator of Its

As a bond's rating serves as an indicator of its default risk, the rating has a direct, measurable influence on the firm's:

A) earnings per share and dividend payments.
B) cost of using such debt and the bond's interest rate.
C) ability to procure raw material for production.
D) tax liability to the federal government.
E) current assets and the bond's maturity value.