Starbucks wields the axe in the US

In a sign that the days of splurging on US$4 (€2.50) lattes may be over, Starbucks will close 600 US stores in the next year, as the faltering US economy hastened the pain caused by the company’s own rapid expansion.

Starbucks did not say which stores will be closed, only that they are spread throughout the country. But it did say 70% of those slated for closure had opened after the start of 2006.