Welcome to See King Alpha's Wall Street breakfast, where we cover the top news for investors every morning.

Good morning. Today is Thursday, October 31st. I'm Julie Morgan. The new CEO of Starbucks is getting back

to basics. Blackstone is reportedly ready to make a $7 billion investment and the

Grammys has a new home.

Starbucks outlined some of the traffic headwinds it saw in the US, China, and other global markets.

During the company's earnings call, the company suspended its guidance for fiscal year 25 but said it still

sees store growth opportunities because new stores in low density regions are

outperforming. CEO Brian Nickle made his highly anticipated appearance on the call.

Nickle said the earnings results were very disappointing.

He wants Starbucks stores to be a welcoming coffee house where people gather and where the company serves the finest coffee handcrafted by skilled baristas.

A top priority is to improve the time it takes for store customers to receive their orders.

As part of an appeal to the coffee house vibe, Nichols said Starbucks plans to bring back

condiment coffee bars in all cafes by early 2025 offer ceramic mugs again and

bring back cozy seating and amenities to make stores a place where customers want

to gather an area that Starbucks plans to put in some

guardrails is with order customization as part of a strategy to improve throughput.

The company is also removing extra charges for non-dary milk orders, beginning on November 7th.

Outside, the U.S. nickel noted the China turnaround could take some time, but was optimistic about the opportunities in new

international markets. Notably Starbucks said it would not raise prices in

North America in fiscal year 25. The new strategy at Starbucks could have implications for rivals such as

Duncan Donuts, Dutchbrows, and Panera. Blackstone is the mystery investor who bid for a $7 billion minority stake in Roger

Communications Cellphone Infrastructure Business.

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