The Starbucks recession indicator.
Want to know how bad a country's economic downturn will be? Add up the number of outlets serving grande lattes.

By Dan Gross, Slate.com
Remember Thomas Friedman's McDonald's theory of international relations?
The thinking was that if two countries had evolved into prosperous, mass-consumer societies, with middle classes able to afford Big Macs, they would generally find peaceful means of adjudicating disputes. They'd sit down over a Happy Meal to resolve issues rather than use mortars.

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