On Nov. 10, 2008, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said that it affirmed its 'BB+' corporate credit and senior unsecured ratings on Santa Clara, Calif.-based Sun Microsystems Inc. In addition, we revised the outlook to negative from stable. The outlook revision reflects continued declines in revenues and profitability, with the likelihood of a challenging IT spending environment extending into 2009, which could further dampen operating performance. First-quarter 2009 results (fiscal-year-end June) included a 7% sales decrease, which is the third sequential quarter that Sun's revenue declined, and a net loss of $65 million (excluding a $1.45 billion non-cash goodwill impairment charge). The rating on Sun reflects the company's good, but not leading, position (based on all operating systems) in the
