Starbucks to close 150 stores as sales growth cools

Starbucks says it will accelerate its store closings in the U.S. next year to counter cooling sales growth.The Seattle-based company announced Tuesday that it will close 150 underperforming stores in heavily penetrated markets, up from the usual rate of 50 closings a year. Starbucks now operates about 13,900 locations in the U.S., putting it within sipping distance of the 14,400 restaurants operated by McDonald's. In the past year, Starbucks has opened almost 1,000 new stores in the Americas, wh