What The Market's Reading: January 9, 2015

French Manhunt Continues

The brothers wanted for their role in Wednesday’s shooting at Charlie Hebdo are still at large, and at least one hostage was taken by gunmen believed to be the brothers on Friday morning. French police are still working to apprehend the men, one of which has been trained in Yemen by al-Qaeda. 

The attack has seen global support, with many publications reprinting the satyrical newspaper’s cartoons in support of free speech. Thousands of people from around France gathered in vigil around the Eiffel Tower on Thursday while the iconic landmark dimmed its lights in honor of the victims.

Boston Strong

Boston has been selected by US officials to compete against Rome, Istanbul, Paris and other major cities to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. Boston beat out Los Angeles and San Francisco in a unanimous vote to gain the title. The decision has been met with excitement as Boston lawmakers prepare their bid, but some are worried about the expenses the city will incur as a result.

Having never hosted an Olympic Games, Boston will be required to build a great deal of infrastructure specifically designed for the competition. Sochi spent around $51 billion hosting the Winter Olympics last year, a good indication of the costs Boston can expect to incur.

More Like P-S-Fail

Starbucks Corporation SBUX is expected to report worse than expected holiday sales in its quarterly results, something the company says could be attributed to an unexpected fall in the popularity of its Pumpkin Spice Latte, known throughout the social media world as “PSL”.

The rumored weakness was in the spotlight on Thursday when Chief Operating Officer Troy Alstead announced that he was planning to take an extended period of unpaid leave in the coming year.

His reason for leaving, he said, was to spend more time with his family. CEO Howard Schultz backed him up in a memo to employees, saying his leave was unrelated to the company’s financial performance. Alstead and Shultz are slated to provide more details about the departure on January 22 when the company announces its earnings.