On Feb. 9, 2009, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services revised its outlook on Seattle-based Starbucks Corp. to negative from stable. At the same time, we lowered the company's short-term rating to 'A-3' from 'A-2' and removed it from CreditWatch with negative implications, where it was placed Feb. 2, 2009. In addition, we affirmed the 'BBB' corporate credit rating. The outlook revision reflects operating performance that deteriorated in the first quarter ended Dec. 28, 2008, including consolidated same-store sales of negative 10% and operating margins that contracted 300 basis points (bps) for the 12 months ended Dec. 28, 2008, compared to a year ago. While Starbucks has announced cost-cutting initiatives and a further reduction of unprofitable stores, we do not expect
