I’ll have a Veinte, iced, cinimon, spilt shot espresso, mint, mocha frappe, latte, crappe, dappe, with a hint of a frothy loan, thanks…

The times they are a changing, we all need to get out there and help our local little guy and BUY! BUY! BUY! All the grassroots protestors need to ban together and hit the streets to get the word out. Signs need to go up, flyers must be passed around and for the love of god let the press in on it.

The issue? There is a company that is in dire need of our support so that it can continue to exist on the small scale that it has for years. Already jobs have been lost and stores have been closed. We need to make sure this does not continue or the company will tank for certain. It is our duty to help out these individuals…

Oh no wait sorry my mistake must have been the cold I have and the breakfast martinis I consumed with my lucky charms this AM. The profits are falling as is the status as one of the most affluent companies in the U.S.

That’s right Starbucks is having trouble. My thought; good, for a few reasons 1. it annoys me that I see one on every single corner when I go to work. 2; they are not a very good role model in the areas of environmental stewardship nor are they to be revered for their treatment of those who pick the addictive coffee bean. 3. Their utter monopolization with cut throat (smart business) tactics of buying out leases of their smaller competitors and adding a shop every few hundred meters to not allow others to open shop. Good business for them bad for the little guy and the market as a whole.

But in all honesty who would have thought that we would be reading an article like this; "SO the froth has been blown off Starbucks' profits." Although it is a cheesy play on words it is still the bold (sorry couldn’t help myself I guess) truth that is now facing the gargantuan Starbucks franchise.

The article itself outlines how the Coffee juggernaut has actually lost 97% of their profit in the fourth quarter. The company has attempted to mitigate this loss by "…cutting nearly 1,000 non-retail jobs and closing 600 outlets, including 61 of its 84 cafés in Australia.

This seems to be interesting trend that is affecting many larger corporations and many having their starts in the U.S. Obviously the markets volatility is not helping anyone but usually the big guys are not hit this hard. In this case that isn’t the only factor. It seems that many individuals have simply lost interest as research is showing less traffic to these outlets.

Regardless I personally attempt to stay away from Starbucks and purchase more fair-trade an help out local coffee shops but must admit the Grande bold pulls me in from time to time.