Ouch. Standard & Poor's just assigned Twitter's debt with a junk rating. LONDON (CNNMoney) Twitter just got junked. Ratings agency Standard & Poor's assigned Twitter's recent bond offering with a "junk" rating Thursday, indicating it has a relatively low view of Twitter's ability to repay its debts.
The BB- rating from S&P is reserved for companies where the business looks relatively stable in the near-term, "but faces major ongoing uncertainties to adverse business, financial and economic conditions."
Twitter is working aggressively to expand its user base and revenue, but S&P still doesn't expect the social media firm to post positive cash flows until 2016.
In the latest quarter, the company reported a surge in sales, but that didn't translate into sustainable profitability. Twitter reported a net loss of $175.5 million in the quarter.
Shares in Twitter tumbled by nearly 6% Thursday.
The stock has been very volatile, dropping by 37% since the start of the year. That makes it the biggest loser on CNNMoney's Tech30 index.
Twitter has a user base of roughly 284 million people that has grown by nearly 25% over the last year. However, that number pales in comparison to Facebook (FB, Tech30), which has 864 million active users -- giving it more clout with advertisers. Facebook has also posted strong user growth, up by nearly 20% in a year.
Instagram blocked in China
The S&P junk rating was specifically assigned to Twitter's $1.8 billion bond issue from September. Twitter raised the money to fund its day-to-day business and potential acquisitions.
As of the end of September, Twitter had $3.6 billion in cash, which includes the $1.8 billion it made from issuing those bonds.
Kathryn Scott Osler/The Denver Post via Getty Images Several businesses will be showing their appreciation for those who have served our country by giving them free meals, services and more on or around Veterans Day. Here's a roundup of the special offers available to veterans and military personnel. Note that some of these offers are available on days other than the Veterans Day holiday on Nov. 11. If you don't see your favorite establishment listed, call it directly to see if it will be honoring veterans and service members with any freebies. And check back because we'll be adding more deals as we learn about them. Free Food Applebee's is offering veterans and active-duty military members a free entree on Nov. 11 (dine-in only). Proof of service required. Bar Louie, with locations in 24 states, will honor veterans and active-duty military members with a free meal up to a $12 value on Nov. 10-11 when they show valid military ID or other proof of service. Bob Evans will let veterans and active-duty military enjoy free all-you-can-eat pancakes on Nov. 11. California Pizza Kitchen is offering a free entree from a special menu (dine-in only) Nov. 11 to veterans and active military members who come in uniform or bring proof of service. Cheeseburger in Paradise Bar & Grill, with locations in seven states, will give veterans and military personnel with proof of ID a free burger and fries on Nov. 11. Denny's is offering active, non-active and retired military personnel a free Build Your Own Grand Slam breakfast meal from 5 a.m. to noon on Nov. 11. Golden Corral will hold its annual free military appreciation dinner Nov. 17 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. to anyone who has ever served in the military (no ID required). The dinner is open to friends and family of military members, but they will have to pay the regular dinner menu pricing. Handel's Homemade Ice Cream & Yogurt will be giving away free single-scoop ice cream cones to veterans and military personnel with valid ID on Nov. 11 at participating shops. No purchase is required. Handel's has 40 locations in seven states. Krispy Kreme will give a free doughnut and coffee to veterans and active military (no ID required) on Nov. 11. LongHorn Steakhouse will offer veterans and active military members a free Texas Tonion appetizer and non-alcohol beverage on Nov. 11 with proof of service. McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants, with locations in 22 states and the District of Columbia, will offer veterans (with official ID) a free entree from a special menu Nov. 9. Dine-in only. Olive Garden will give active-duty military and veterans a free entree from a special menu on Nov. 11. On the Border is giving veterans and active military who dine in the restaurant Nov. 11 a free meal from its "create your own combo" menu. Red Lobster will be giving veterans and active-duty military members with valid ID or proof of service a free select appetizer Nov. 10-13. Shoney's will offer veterans and active-duty military a free All-American Burger on Nov. 11. Texas Roadhouse will honor veterans and active-duty military with a free lunch from a special menu Nov. 11. Proof of service required. Wayback Burgers will offer veterans and active-duty military a Wayback Classic Burger with the purchase of any side and drink on Nov. 11. Valid form of military ID required. Free Services and Product Discounts JDog Junk Removal & Hauling is offering free junk removal services for disabled veterans who book a service on Nov. 11. The franchise, which is owned and operated by veterans, has locations in six states. Sleep Number is offering special discounts on select Sleep Number beds to current and past military personnel through Nov. 16. Free Park Admission Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia is offering free admission Nov. 7-11 to active-duty military, reservists, veterans and retired military and their dependents. Knott's Berry Farm in California is offering free admission for veterans and active-duty military (with ID) and one guest Nov. 2 through Jan. 4. U.S. National Parks will waive entrance fees on Nov. 11 for everyone at the 133 parks that usually charge an entrance fee. Business Opportunities for Vets Baskin-Robbins is offering an incentive program to veterans who want to open a Baskin-Robbins franchise. It will waive the franchise fee of $25,000 and offer a zero percent royalty rate for the first two years for five qualified veterans.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP WASHINGTON -- A cyberattack similar to previous hacker intrusions from China penetrated computer networks for months at USIS, the government's leading security clearance contractor, before the company noticed, officials and others familiar with an FBI investigation and related official inquiries told The Associated Press. The breach, first revealed by the company and government agencies in August, compromised the private records of at least 25,000 employees at the Homeland Security Department and cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars in lost government contracts. In addition to trying to identify the perpetrators and evaluate the scale of the stolen material, the government inquiries have prompted concerns about why computer detection alarms inside the company failed to quickly notice the hackers and whether federal agencies that hired the company should have monitored its practices more closely. Former employees of the firm, U.S. Investigations Services, also have raised questions about why the company and the government failed to ensure that outdated background reports containing personal data weren't regularly purged from the company's computers. Details about the investigation and related inquiries were described by federal officials and others familiar with the case. The officials spoke only on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly on the continuing criminal investigation, the others because of concerns about possible litigation. A computer forensics analysis by consultants hired by the company's lawyers defended USIS' handling of the breach, noting it was the firm that reported the incident. The analysis said government agencies regularly reviewed and approved the firm's early warning system. In the analysis, submitted to federal officials in September and obtained by the AP, the consultants criticized the government's decision in August to indefinitely halt the firm's background investigations. Familiar Attacks USIS reported the cyberattack to federal authorities on June 5, more than two months before acknowledging it publicly. The attack had hallmarks similar to past intrusions by Chinese hackers, according to people familiar with the investigation. Last March, hackers traced to China were reported to have penetrated computers at the Office of Personnel Management, the federal agency that oversees most background investigations of government workers and has contracted extensively with USIS. In a brief interview, Joseph Demarest, assistant director of the FBI's cyber division, described the hack against USIS as "sophisticated" but said "we're still working through that as well." He added, "There is some attribution" as to who was responsible, but he declined to comment further. For many people, the impact of the USIS break-in is dwarfed by recent intrusions that exposed credit and private records of millions of customers at JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Target (TGT) and Home Depot (HD). But it's significant because the government relies heavily on contractors to vet U.S. workers in sensitive jobs. The possibility that national security background investigations are vulnerable to cyber-espionage could undermine the integrity of the verification system used to review more than 5 million government workers and contract employees. Treasure Trove "The information gathered in the security clearance process is a treasure chest for cyberhackers. If the contractors and the agencies that hire them can't safeguard their material, the whole system becomes unreliable," said Alan Paller, head of SANS, a cybersecurity training school, and former co-chair of DHS' task force on cyberskills. Last month, the leaders of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Tom Carper, D-Del., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla., pressed OPM and DHS about their oversight of contractors and USIS' performance before and during the cyberattack. Another committee member, Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said he worried about the security of background check data, telling the AP that contractors and federal agencies need to "maintain a modern, adaptable and secure IT infrastructure system that stays ahead of those who would attack our national interests." The Office of Personnel Management and the Homeland Security Department indefinitely halted all USIS work on background investigations in August. OPM, which paid the company $320 million for investigative and support services in 2013, later decided not to renew its background check contracts with the firm. The move prompted USIS to lay off its entire force of 2,500 investigators. A company spokesperson complained that the agency hasn't explained its decision. Representatives from OPM and DHS declined comment. Cybersecurity Not Evaluated Last month, the federal Government Accounting Office ruled that Homeland Security should re-evaluate a $200 million support contract award to USIS. The GAO advised the department to consider shifting the contract to FCi Federal, a rival firm, prompting protests from USIS. In the private analysis prepared for USIS by Stroz Friedberg, a digital risk management firm, managing director Bret A. Padres said the company's computers had government-approved "perimeter protection, antivirus, user authentication and intrusion-detection technologies." But Padres said his firm didn't evaluate the strength of USIS' cybersecurity measures before the intrusion. Federal officials familiar with the government inquiries said those assessments raised concerns that USIS' computer system and its managers weren't primed to rapidly detect the breach quickly once hackers got inside. The computer system was probably penetrated months before the government was notified in June, officials said. Cybersecurity experts say attacks on corporate targets often occur up to 18 months before they are discovered and are usually detected by the government or outside security specialists. Still, USIS noted its own security preparations "enabled us to self-detect this unlawful attack." Padres said the hackers attacked a vulnerable computer server in "a connected but separate network, managed by a third party not affiliated with USIS." He didn't identify the outside company. Sensitive Data Not Protected Former USIS workers told the AP that company investigators sometimes stored old or duplicate background reports that should have been purged from their laptops. The reports contained sensitive financial and personal data that could be used for blackmail or to harm government workers' credit ratings, the former workers said. Former USIS employees who worked with the federal personnel office said the system they used directed users to purge old reports. But the workers said USIS and OPM rarely followed up with spot checks. Employees who worked on systems with the Homeland Security Department said these had no similar automatic warning function and spot checks were rare. The company insisted spot checks were regularly performed. Several former USIS workers said they were told nothing by the company about the cyberattack for two months after the breach was exposed. In emails obtained by the AP, company workers were ordered to change their passwords without explanation. The USIS spokesperson said the government directed the company's decision to keep silent about the breach. Experts said companies often withhold such information for both security and management reasons. "Employees may not like it," Paller said, "but from a business perspective, that's what companies do." -. 
Charles Rex Arbogast/AP U.S. manufacturing activity unexpectedly accelerated in October as new orders rebounded strongly, which should ease concerns of a significant moderation in economic growth in the fourth quarter. Other data Monday showed strong automobile sales last month, although top-seller General Motors (GM) missed expectations. The Institute for Supply Management said its index of national factory activity rose to 59 last month from a reading of 56.6 in September. The index is now back at a 3½ year high touched in August. The reading exceeded expectations of 56.2, according to a Reuters poll of economists, topping even the most optimistic estimate of 57.3. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the manufacturing sector. The employment gauge recovered in October to 55.5 from 54.6 in September, while the new orders index rose to 65.8 from October's reading of 60. The upbeat report suggests that the economy retained much of its momentum from the third quarter. There have been fears that growth in the final three months of the year could slow down significantly after reports last week showed weak consumer spending and business investment plans at the end of the April-June quarter. The government last week reported that the economy grew at a 3.5 percent annual pace in the third quarter. But a separate report Monday showing a surprise decline in construction spending in September suggested this growth estimate could be revised lower. Construction spending dropped 0.4 percent to an annual rate of $950.9 billion, the Commerce Department said. August's construction outlays were revised to show a 0.5 percent fall instead of the previously reported 0.8 percent decline. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast construction spending rising 0.7 percent. In September, private construction spending dipped 0.1 percent to its lowest level since October last year as an increase in residential outlays was offset by a decline in spending on nonresidential projects. It was the fourth straight month of declines in private constructions spending. Spending on public construction projects fell 1.3 percent in September, with state and local government investment declining 1.4 percent. Spending on construction projects by the federal government slipped 0.3 percent, falling for a third consecutive month.
) reported higher third quarter earnings, which beat analysts’ expectations. 