WALL STREET JOURNAL: In its most significant pullback yet to its U.S. expansion, Starbucks Corp. said it will close an additional 500 U.S. stores and cut 7% of its work force. The move effectively ends Starbucks’ era as a break-neck growth company, one that blanketed the country with about 11,000 locations nationwide since the late 1980s. It’s also a sign that the specialty coffee business is taking a troubling turn just as mainstream companies like McDonald’s Corp. are beginning to invest heavily in it. Starbucks said the 500 locations, as well as 100 others it slated for closure earlier this […]