Starbucks chief retreats from his 40,000-store goal

Starbucks Corp Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz backed away from his goal of opening 40,000 stores after the world's largest chain of coffee shops reported fourth-quarter profit that plunged 96 per cent.

Starbucks fell in European trading today after saying 2009 earnings per share may be as low as 71 cents or as high as 90 cents, depending on how steeply sales deteriorate.