Starbucks Struggles in Europe

Trefis submits: Starbucks’ (NASDAQ:SBUX) packaged coffee and tea business is growing.

By Gary Gordon: Non-cyclical stock sectors (e.g., consumer staples, health care, utilities, etc.) often do well when there are concerns about economic growth. Indeed, exchange-traded funds representing one or more components of the non-cyclical arena have been the key drivers in the broader U.S.

Starbucks struggles to make headway in Europe; a look at mobile mapping software; James B. Stewart on the Supreme Court and the health care bill.

By Sunil Shah:On 8 November 2011, insurance industry software developer Ebix Inc. (EBIX) hosted a conference call to disclose results for the September quarter. It was excellent: management was confident, assertive and delivered the report with mounting conviction about the company's future prospects.

An exchange I had last week with Econbrowser reader (and world-renowned scholar) Simon van Norden may be of interest to broader readers, so I lift it here from the comments: Simon asked: Under the current economic circumstances, what mix of fiscal and monetary policy do you think would be desirable?

It's your friend's birthday! Want to buy them a Starbucks card? That's the latest way Facebook is trying to get users, used to posting simple, free birthday wishes on friends' walls, to spend money instead.