The company said it now plans to close 600 company-operated stores in the United States, up from its previous plans to close 100 stores. The company also said it now plans to open fewer than 200 stores in its coming fiscal year.

The Seattle-based gourmet coffee retailer said the company used several criteria in deciding which stores to close, including whether they were profitable or expected to become profitable in the near future. In a statement, it added that "consideration was given to the impact of current and anticipated economic trends."

Starbucks, known for sometimes going so far as to open stores across the street from one another, has recently acknowledged that it may have lost some of its luster during a long period of rapid store openings and expansion into everything from breakfast sandwiches to movie promotions. The company also has been feeling the pinch from a down economy, which has made $4 coffee drinks less palatable for many Americans.

Analyst Mitch Pinheiro, who follows the company for Janney Montgomery Scott, said the company would need to get around $900 million for Godiva to avoid diluting earnings.

Pinheiro said Campbell has resisted selling Godiva in the past partly because there was no place to reinvest the money that would equal profits generated by the chocolate company.

He said that has changed. The company could put money toward its planned entry into the soup business in mainland China and Russia and into expanding manufacturing capacity for its increasingly popular V8 juices -- and do it without taking on additional debt.

"I think the fact that the company's putting Godiva up for sale signals that Campbell Soup has strong growth opportunities in its core portfolio," Pinheiro said.

The latest example: John Mackey, co-founder and chief executive of Whole Foods, posted anonymously about his company and the acquisition target Wild Oats Markets on the Yahoo stock market boards beginning in 1999 until last year. Using the pseudonym "Rahodeb" -- an anagram of his wife's name, Deborah -- he routinely bashed Wild Oats, posting nuggets such as "OATS has no value and no future," The Wall Street Journal reports. That particular post was made in February 2005; this year, Whole Foods agreed to purchase Wild Oats for $670 million in February.

The information about Mackey's posts came to light this week, thanks to the Federal Trade Commission, which is seeking to block Whole Foods' buyout of Wild Oats, saying the deal would squash competition.

But, while criticizing a rival anonymously doesn't seem like an especially noble way to run a business, it's also hard to see how, in these circumstances, it proves an antitrust violation.

"Would Whole Foods buy OATS?" Rahodeb asked, using Wild Oats' stock symbol. "Almost surely not at current prices. What would they gain? OATS locations are too small." Rahodeb speculated that Wild Oats eventually would be sold after sliding into bankruptcy or when its stock fell below $5. A month later, Rahodeb wrote that Wild Oats management "clearly doesn't know what it is doing .... OATS has no value and no future."

Starbucks Corp., the world's largest coffee shop chain, will open at least 10,000 new stores over the next four years and double its size within five years, chairman Howard Schultz said yesterday. Starbucks is serving 45 million customers a week, Mr. Schultz said at the company's annual meeting in Seattle, where it is based. Starbucks' long-term goal is to have 40,000 locations worldwide, compared with 13,168 stores at the end of 2006. In another development, Paul McCartney was introduced as the first artist signed to Starbucks' new record label. The former Beatle made an appearance via a video feed from London at the annual meeting.

It seems that after local news stations heard about the rat sightings they flocked to the store to catch the rodents having their way around the restaurant. The rats were taped running between counters and tables and climbing on children's high chairs. Yikes, definitely not a good scene.

While today's rat race is definitely a disturbing event, it really shouldn't come as much of a surprise to the restaurant owners. Back in December when the store had a health inspection they were giving a passing grade but the inspectors noted at that time that there was evidence of rat droppings in the store.

The store has been closed until the store is completely re-sanitized and given a clean bill of health. According to a statement from KFC/Taco Bell construction in the basement on Thursday "temporarily escalated the situation."

Whole Foods Market Inc., the largest U.S. natural-foods grocer, said it agreed to buy rival Wild Oats Markets Inc. for $565 million after reporting its first profit decline in five quarters.

Whole Foods will pay $18.50 in cash for each share of Boulder, Colorado-based Wild Oats, 18 percent higher than its closing price today. First-quarter net income fell 7.8 percent to $53.8 million, or 38 cents a share, Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods said today. Earnings missed analysts' estimates.

Buying Wild Oats will help counter slowing growth at Whole Foods, which faced competition from Safeway Inc., Trader Joe's and other grocery stores selling organic and prepared food. First-quarter sales at Whole Foods stores open at least a year rose 7 percent, down from 13 percent a year earlier.

"Whole Foods had won the size game and was able to call the shots," said Matt Patsky, portfolio manager at Boston-based Winslow Management Co. which overseas $350 million, including Whole Foods shares.

Wild Oats posted a loss in two of the past five years and its sales climbed 26 percent over the period to $1.12 billion, while Whole Foods doubled profit and sales.