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Starbucks founder Howard Schultz — who is contemplating a presidential run as a Democrat — recently attended a private gathering of political donors organized by Mitt Romney, according to a report at Politico. Politico’s Ben Schrekinger writes that the donors, “convened by” Romney, were unimpressed with the would-be candidate: Wall Street analysts are wary, and company leadership is nervous, about the effect a Democratic bid by its chairman emeritus could have on Starbucks’ business, given its bipartisan customer base. If that weren’t discouraging enough, his retirement last month set off a boomlet of pundits urging him not to run. And...

Howard Schultz is stepping down from his role as executive chairman of Starbucks, effective June 26, according to a memo sent to employees Monday. Schultz is seen as the architect of the modern Starbucks, having overseen its expansion from a single coffee shop that opened in Seattle's Pike Place Market in 1971.He joined Starbucks in 1982 as director of operations and marketing. Over time he grew it into the iconic brand it is today, with more than 28,000 locations globally. Schultz's latest leadership transition sparked speculation about his potential political plans: He has been a supporter of former President Barack...

Starbucks executive chairman Howard Schultz said on Tuesday that President Trump's rhetoric on race is partly to blame for the country's "racial divide." Schultz said he believes the president has given people license to copy the "behavior and language that comes out of this administration," in an interview with CNN Tuesday. "Having said that, the racial divide and the inequities that exist between people of color and caucasians in America is a problem that's existed for quite some time and I think — we have to ask ourselves a very important question and that is, what kind of country do...

Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz continued his assault against the majority of Americans. Following the Charlottesville protests, Schultz said, “I know we’re better than this. The bigotry, hatred and senseless violence against people who are not white cannot stand.”   Howard Schultz is a disgrace. He recently came under fire for saying he was going to hire thousands of Muslim refugees over Americans/Veterans. He continues to side with the violent leftists by refusing to condemn Antifa, Black Lives Matter and Islamic terrorists. According to Schultz, only the white supremacists were violent, bigoted and hateful. Shocker.

Kevin Johnson, who succeeded Howard Schultz as CEO this month, on Thursday presided over an earnings call where the company cut its full-year profit target on the heels of disappointing second-quarter sales and stalling growth from its main business in the United States. Shares in the company fell 4.9 percent to $58.30 after Starbucks also announced that it was reviewing its Teavana business after that chain's mall stores dragged down overall sales.

Never one to refrain from speaking out on political issues, Starbucks (SBUX) CEO Howard Schultz took to his soap box on Sunday evening and fired back at the Trump administration following its controversial immigration ban. "I write to you today with deep concern, a heavy heart and a resolute promise," Schultz said in a new blog post, adding, "We are living in an unprecedented time, one in which we are witness to the conscience of our country, and the promise of the American Dream, being called into question." Housed in Schultz's missive were a host of interesting nuggets. Schultz said...

The AP review of Clinton's calendar — her after-the-fact, official chronology of the events of her four-year term — identified at least 75 meetings with longtime political donors and loyalists, Clinton Foundation contributors and corporate and other outside interests that were either not recorded or listed with identifying details scrubbed. The AP found the omissions by comparing the 1,500-page document with separate planning schedules supplied to Clinton by aides in advance of each day's events. The names of at least 114 outsiders who met with Clinton were missing from her calendar, the records show...

Howard Schultz, the chairman and CEO of Starbucks, is being urged to challenge Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination. Schultz, 62, is getting encouragement from supporters because they believe "the time is right for someone who's not a political lifer," New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd said on Saturday. "It may be a tempting proposition." Raised in low-income housing in Brooklyn, Schultz later graduated from Northern Michigan University. He bought Starbucks in 1988 and built the company to where its operating income totaled $939 million in its most recent quarter, on $4.9 billion in sales. "He has strong opinions,...

The Starbucks (SBUX) CEO called out former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani for questioning President Obama's "love" for his country. "As an American, I find Rudy Giuliani's vicious comments about President Obama 'not loving America' to be profoundly offensive to both the President and the Office," Schultz said in a statement. Giuliani caused a political stir this week with his remarks about Obama at a dinner event featuring Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, in a speech first reported by Politico. He said he didn't believe Obama "loves America."

Hyping "growing support" for same-sex marriage, CNN's Carol Costello asked a supporter of California's Proposition 8 on Monday if he was "on the wrong side of history" for legally defining marriage as between one man and one woman. Her tone fits right with Friday's CNN panel where a traditional marriage supporter was disgustingly marginalized as a segregationist and compared to a slave owner. Costello cited GOP strategist Karl Rove admitting that he could see a Republican presidential candidate publicly support same-sex marriage in 2016. She then asked Austin Nimocks of the Alliance Defense Fund, "Austin, you heard what Karl Rove...

ACTIONS speak louder than words. Let's see if Schultz stands firm or rejects his own rhetoric going forward.

Portland, OR [snip]..... The forum comes weeks after [Starbucks CEO Howard] Schultz called on other CEOs to halt contributions to U.S. political campaigns until the nation's leaders become financially disciplined and stop their political wrangling. The CEOs of more than 100 companies, from AOL to Zipcar, joined Schultz in his pledge to halt contributions and do what they could to stimulate growth in their industries. Schultz, who heads Seattle-based Starbucks, which operates more than 17,000 stores globally, said he was moved to hold the forum after receiving hundreds of emails and letters from citizens. They were struggling to find jobs,...

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is backpedaling on his support for Obama’s health care law. The coffee giant CEO said in a statement that the way the bill is written under the current guidelines, the pressure on small business because of the mandate is “too great.” Martha MacCallum spoke to Douglas Holtz-Eakin, former director of the Congressional Budget Office and president of the American Action Forum about Schultz’s statement and the impact to small business owners.

Fewer U.S. customers and venti-sized costs for closing poorly performing stores led to lower sales and profit in the fourth quarter at Starbucks Corp., the company said Monday. The quarter's results came at the end of a transition year for the coffee retailer, in which former Chief Executive Howard Schultz took back the reins of the company to again fill the CEO and chairman posts. Seattle-based Starbucks said profit in the quarter fell 97 percent to $5.4 million, or a penny a share, from $158.5 million, or 21 cents per share. The coffee retailer earned 10 cents per share when...