Poor Farmer

Starbucks's chairman Howard Schultz speaks during an interview with Reuters in Mexico City September 7, 2007. Starbucks Corp on Monday said its chief executive, Jim Donald, is leaving the company, effective immediately. Schultz, the coffee shop chain's founder and chairman, will take on the CEO role. REUTERS/Henry Romero By Nichola Groom Reuters January 7, 2008 LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Starbucks Corp announced on Monday the immediate return of founder Howard Schultz as chief executive and the slowing of an aggressive U.S. expansion in a shake-up that sent its battered shares up nearly 7 percent. The move marks the return to daily management of the well-liked chairman, who is seen as the conscience of the company after he warned a year ago that Starbucks was losing its way. Investors have nearly halved the value of the world's biggest coffee chain to $13 billion in the last year in the midst of weak U.S. sales growth and encroachment by competitors. "The most serious ...

Cartons of McDonald's premium ground coffee are stacked up at the packaging line in Vernon, California March 26, 2007. McDonald's Corp is set to launch coffee bars with "baristas" serving cappuccinos and lattes, moving into direct competition with global coffee chain Starbucks Corp., The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. REUTERS/Fred Prouser Reuters January 7, 2008 NEW YORK (Reuters) - McDonald's Corp is set to launch coffee bars with "baristas" serving cappuccinos and lattes, moving into direct competition with global coffee chain Starbucks Corp., The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. McDonald's will install coffee bars at its 14,000 U.S. stores, incorporating theatrics similar to Starbucks' counters, displaying espresso machines and having baristas prepare drinks, the report said. The report, citing internal documents from 2007, said the move will add $1 billion to McDonald's annual sales of $21.6 billion. McDonald's will a...