Starbucks has hijacked our morning routine and fueled our caffeine addictions, but the company has slowly begun to lose its golden-child status. Sliding shares, slower growth rates, and the return of Howard Schultz as CEO beg the question: Can Starbucks continue to reign supreme in the land of coffeehouses?http://www.newser.com/2008 - Newseren-usNewser Feed GeneratorThu, 28 Aug 2008 7:37:12 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/34122/dont-rejoice-over-starbucks-closing-doors.html?refid=rss_all_defaultStarbucks is closing 600 stores in the US and 61 in Australia, and anti-capitalists everywhere are thrilled. Never mind 12,600 losing their jobs: It’s “a small price to pay if it means being able to walk one’s labradoodle … without having to see or smell a Starbucks,” Brendan O’Neill writes in Spiked, decrying the “socialism of fools,” more obsessed with symbols than people.http://www.newser.com/story/34122/dont-rejoice-over-starbucks-closing-doors.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMon, 04 Aug 2008 12:18:53 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/32076/drown-money-woes-with-cups-of-joe.html?refid=rss_all_defaultWhile Congress worries about what to do for Americans squeezed by gas prices, Starbucks has its own ideas. To lure back people who are cutting pricey lattes out of the budget, new promotions are being launched around the country, writes the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.http://www.newser.com/story/32076/drown-money-woes-with-cups-of-joe.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 10 Jul 2008 8:10:46 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/31754/as-starbucks-wanes-java-fiends-revel-in-indie-cafes.html?refid=rss_all_defaultAs Starbucks' financial troubles percolate, not all java fiends are bemoaning the loss of the chain's talls, grandes, and ventis, reports Reuters. In fact, many are celebrating the java giant's downturn and throwing their support behind small independent cafes. Starbucks is set to close 600 stores and lay off 12,000 employees while local coffee shops are sprouting up nationwide.http://www.newser.com/story/31754/as-starbucks-wanes-java-fiends-revel-in-indie-cafes.html?refid=rss_all_defaultSun, 06 Jul 2008 14:17:32 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/31400/starbucks-to-close-600-stores-across-us.html?refid=rss_all_defaultStarbucks will close hundreds of stores across the US in its newest attempt to boost deflated profits, the Seattle Times reports. In the next nine months, about 600 stores are getting the ax, most of which opened after October 2005. About 12,000 employees will lose their jobs, but the company hopes to absorb some of them into other stores. The coffee chain also plans to open fewer than 200 new stores in the US during the next fiscal year.http://www.newser.com/story/31400/starbucks-to-close-600-stores-across-us.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 01 Jul 2008 20:21:36 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/29127/starbucks-offers-free-wi-fi-for-2-hours-a-day.html?refid=rss_all_defaultStarbucks will offer its customers 2 hours of free Wi-Fi a day starting next week, its latest effort to snap out of a sales slump, USA Today reports. Those eligible need a Starbucks Card and must register online with the company's rewards program. Critics say the move isn’t the severe re-imagining the firm needs, but Starbucks argues the Internet access will pump up the already successful Starbucks Card programhttp://www.newser.com/story/29127/starbucks-offers-free-wi-fi-for-2-hours-a-day.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 03 Jun 2008 14:03:34 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/28849/starbucks-banks-on-new-hardware.html?refid=rss_all_defaultWith the grounds of a sour economy sticking between shareholders' teeth, Starbucks is looking to a new espresso machine to perk profits back up, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. "What this machine is about is whether Starbucks can get its virginity back," one observer says of the semi-automatic Mastrena, which brewed its first shot in New York today. How the Mastrena might help:http://www.newser.com/story/28849/starbucks-banks-on-new-hardware.html?refid=rss_all_defaultFri, 30 May 2008 15:56:17 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/27490/san-francisco-coffee-scene-heats-up.html?refid=rss_all_defaultPlans for tapping the premium coffee market are percolating in the Bay Area, the San Francisco Chronicle reports in an in-depth look at the new generation of roasters. Emphasizing freshness and preparation, next-gen roasters are building Northwest-inspired businesses that offer patrons ground-to-order $8 cups, or $9-$11 pots prepared by a $20,000 halogen-powered siphon from Japan.http://www.newser.com/story/27490/san-francisco-coffee-scene-heats-up.html?refid=rss_all_defaultFri, 16 May 2008 7:48:17 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/27032/slutbucks-coffee-logo-spurs-protest.html?refid=rss_all_defaultStarbucks' fiscal woes are well-documented, and, Mother Jones blogger Jen Phillips writes, a boycott by a Christian group could be next, over the reintroduction of its original logo, which features a nearly bare-breasted sea siren. "The Starbucks logo has a naked woman on it with her legs spread like a prostitute," says Mark Dice, the group's rep. "The company might as well call themselves Slutbucks."http://www.newser.com/story/27032/slutbucks-coffee-logo-spurs-protest.html?refid=rss_all_defaultFri, 09 May 2008 12:23:53 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/25623/starbucks-quits-the-music-biz.html?refid=rss_all_defaultStarbucks is handing control of its record label to Concord Music Group barely a year after it got into the music business, Variety reports. The move is part of a shakeup as the coffee chain refocuses on its core business to jolt itself out of a slump. Starbucks' label Hear Music released albums by Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell, and James Taylor last year.http://www.newser.com/story/25623/starbucks-quits-the-music-biz.html?refid=rss_all_defaultFri, 25 Apr 2008 1:19:50 CDT