{"id":89302,"date":"2025-10-04T01:00:23","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T08:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=89302"},"modified":"2025-10-08T09:28:35","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T16:28:35","slug":"black-coffee-4-oct-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id89302-black-coffee-4-oct-2025.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: Something’s Simmering"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"It’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe …<\/em><\/p>\n

Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what’s been going on in the world of money and personal finance.<\/p>\n

I’ve got another busy weekend ahead of me, so let’s get right to this week’s commentary …<\/p>\n

The same boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg. It’s about what you’re made of \u2013 not the circumstances.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013 Anonymous<\/strong><\/p>\n

Credits and Debits<\/strong><\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Did you see this? While the debate over the health of the US economy continues, Starbucks announced that it will furlough 900 employees<\/a> and close roughly 400 stores as part of its $1 billion restructuring plan. The number of stores in North America will decline by about 1% in fiscal year 2025. As for the rest of the US, things aren’t looking much better…<\/p>\n

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Debit:<\/strong><\/span> In other news, US consumer confidence declined<\/a> more than expected in September amid mounting worries over the availability of jobs. The latest survey shows that consumers’ assessment of business conditions is declining, while their appraisal of current job availability fell for the ninth straight month. A lot of economists are warning everyone to hold on tight because they’ve seen this movie before \u2013 but have they really?<\/p>\n