Apparently, it’s not only the buck that’s in trouble. Starbucks

is getting…er….roasted.

Shares in Starbucks fell on Thursday after the coffee chain reported the first quarterly decline in sales at its US stores.
Peter Schiff, best-selling author of “Crash Proof,” is on Neil Cavuto this evening, breaking the news about the yuppie favorite (who else would shell out five bucks for coffee, you tell me). Starbucks sales are taken by some to be an indicator of consumer strength.

Here’s what one analyst says:

“If their customers are more budget-conscious this year than they were last year, latte purchases will suffer. If customers feel better about their near-term financial picture, an extra one now and then doesn’t seem so frivolous.”
The other commentators on Cavuto were quick to rush in with excuses: it’s actually only Starbucks’ blue-collar clientele that’s feeling the pinch, they said; the rest of the coffee-swilling crowd is as full of – well – beans as ever.

So is it just Starbucks’ business model that’s slipping or the economy?

Or has it something to do with the exchange rate?