It's not a happy holiday at Starbucks, facing boycotts over the Middle East war and unionization

It’s been a tough few weeks for Starbucks. At a time when it hoped to be spreading holiday cheer, it’s juggling boycotts over the war in the Middle East and over a unionization effort at home. Seattle-based Starbucks won’t yet say how its sales have been impacted. The company’s next quarterly sales report won’t come out until February. But there are indications Starbucks is taking a sales hit. Earlier this month, J.P. Morgan analyst John Ivankoe lowered his U.S. sales forecast for Starbucks’ fiscal first quarter, saying holiday sales appeared to be slower than promotions in the fall.