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☆ McDonald's beats sales estimates as cheaper burgers draw consumers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 27 (Reuters) - McDonald's (MCD.N) beat market expectations for quarterly comparable sales on Thursday, as the restaurant chain's relatively cheaper burgers and fries attracted cost-conscious diners in an inflationary environment. While U.S. restaurant chains including McDonald's have had to raise prices to offset a hit to profit from higher costs, the company has still managed to keep its prices lower than its competitors. Those moves, coupled with improved staffing levels at its chains, have helped McDonald's gain market share from its peers. In contrast, overall traffic at fast-food and quick-service chains climbed just 1.2% in the same period. Easing costs of key ingredients including chicken, cheese and pork have also helped McDonald's, whose total restaurant margins in the United States climbed 12% in the quarter.

Persons: McDonald's, Deborah Sophia, Anil D'Silva Organizations: U.S, McDonald's, Thomson Locations: United States, U.S, Bengaluru, Kailyn Rhone, New York

☆ Chick-fil-A wants to send your drive-thru chicken on a conveyor belt and down a chute
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Customers can either order ahead via the Chick-fil-A app and then receive their meals at one of two lanes dedicated for mobile orders or order as usual through a regular drive-thru lane. The pick-up location is just that: Customers order ahead and then walk into the store to pick up their orders. Speedy service is key for fast food restaurants, especially at the drive-thru, where a long line or a bad experience can scare off customers. Taco Bell has also been testing out drive-thru locations with second-story kitchens, delivering tacos to drive-thru customers via a “vertical lift.”Chick-fil-A tends to earn top marks for its drive-thru, and for its service in general. In a drive-thru survey last year in which Chick-fil-A, along with Carl’s Jr., earned the top spot for satisfaction with service, the chicken chain failed to make the top five for order accuracy.

Persons: New York CNN —, It’s, Chick, Taco Bell, Carl’s Jr Organizations: New, New York CNN, Inc Locations: New York, Atlanta, New York City

☆ Grimace shakes help send McDonald’s sales surging
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

In the United States, sales at McDonald’s locations open for at least 13 months jumped 10.3% in the quarter ending on June 30. Grimace’s birthday, and the kickoff date for the special meal and shake McDonald’s offered to celebrate, was on June 12. When McDonald’s introduced the special products for Grimace in early June, it wasn’t all about the shake. The Grimace Birthday Meal also came with McNuggets or a Big Mac and fries. “Grimace is the perfect lovable icon to have McDonald’s meet our fans at the intersection of nostalgia and culture.”But in TikTok videos where people wish Grimace a happy birthday before sampling the shake, Grimace is not presented as a lovable icon.

Persons: McDonald’s, “, ”, Chris Kempczinski, ” Tariq Hassan, “ Grimace, Grimace, tweeting Organizations: New, New York CNN, McDonald’s, Plant Locations: New York, United States, China, Placer.ai

☆ Why are so many Western firms staying put in Russia, despite the rising risks?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

London CNN —When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a slew of Western companies left in protest. Companies now find themselves caught between Western sanctions and public outrage on the one hand, and an increasingly hostile Russian government on the other. The Kremlin is making it more difficult for Western firms to sell their Russian assets — and imposing steep discounts and punitive taxes when they do. Both companies had been finalizing sales to local buyers when President Vladimir Putin signed an order nationalizing their local assets earlier this month. Spurred by sweeping Western sanctions, oil companies, automakers, technology firms, consultancies and banks led the initial wave of departures.

Persons: —, Vladimir Putin, Carlsberg, Maria Shagina, Andrey Rudakov, Konstantin Zavrazhin, Hein Schumacher, Schumacher, ”, ” Procter, Gamble, ” Mondelez, Fortum Oyj, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, ” Sonnenfeld, — Olesya Dmitracova Organizations: London CNN, Nestlé, Heineken, Companies, Danone, Carlsberg, Breweries, International Institute for Strategic Studies, CNN, Bloomberg, Getty, Yale University, Yale, Unilever, UL, Procter, Gamble, Treasury, Foreign, Control, Carlsberg — Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Lyubuchany, Rosneft, Moscow, Russian

☆ Domino's Pizza misses revenue estimates as higher prices squeeze demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 24 (Reuters) - Domino's Pizza (DPZ.N) missed Wall Street estimates for second-quarter revenue on Monday, as elevated delivery fees and higher prices to boost margins hurt demand for its pizzas and chicken wings. Shares of the world's largest pizza chain dropped 4% in premarket trading as Domino's said it saw lower order volumes during the quarter. Higher labor and raw material costs have forced restaurant chains, even the biggest names including McDonald's (MCD.N), to jack up menu prices and delivery fees, which hurt cost-conscious consumers whose budgets are already squeezed by sticky inflation. Domino's U.S. same-store sales rose 0.1% in the second quarter, compared with analysts' estimates of an about 0.2% increase. Domino's total revenue fell 3.8% to $1.02 billion in the three months ended June 18, compared with analysts' estimate of $1.07 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

Persons: Domino's, Uber, Russell Weiner, Granth, Shinjini Organizations: Uber, Thomson Locations: U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Earnings playbook: Alphabet and General Motors lead off a busy week of reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( Fred Imbert | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

Tuesday General Motors is set to report earnings before the bell, followed by a call at 8:30 a.m. What history shows: GM earnings beat earnings expectations 86% of the time, according to Bespoke. Alphabet is set to report earnings after the bell, with management slated to hold a call at 5 p.m. This quarter: Earnings for the tech giant are expected to have grown by 10% from the year-earlier period, per Refinitiv. What history shows: Bespoke data shows Alphabet earnings beat expectations 68% of the time, and the stock rises more than 1% on earnings day.

Persons: Michael Wayland, GM's EVs, GOOGL, Jennifer Elias, Goldman Sachs, Kash Rangan, Rangan, Peter Grom, Leslie Josephs, Max, Wells, Zachary Fadem, Jonathan Vanian, Meta, Refinitiv, Jefferies, Andy Barish, LUV, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: General Motors, Microsoft, Refinitiv, CNBC, company's, Silverado, United Auto Workers union, Investors, Management, PepsiCo, UBS, Boeing, Corporate, Twitter, Meta, Southwest Airlines, U.S, Southwest Locations: U.S, FactSet

☆ What we hope to see from 9 Club stocks out with earnings in the week ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

Looking to next week, earnings season will ramp up — and though we'll get some important economic data, expect the corporate releases and management commentary on the post-game calls to be firmly in the driver's seat. Here are two important things to know for the week ahead. Quarterly earnings : As important as economic releases are, it's earnings that will garner the bulk of investors' attention. For those looking to review first-quarter performance ahead of these releases, keep our first-quarter earnings report card handy. Here's the full rundown of all the important domestic data in the week ahead.

Persons: Dow, we'll, we've, Lawrence Yun, Jerome Powell's, Sartorius, Sartorius preannounced, It's, management's, We'll, Tesla, Ford's, Sherwin, Williams, Archer, Clark, Lam, Edwards Lifesciences, Hewlett, Northrop, Dr Pepper, Davidson, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Spencer Platt Organizations: Nasdaq, Economic, National Association of Realtors, Nine, GE Healthcare, Microsoft, YouTube, Linde, LIN, Honeywell, Aerospace, Technologies, Ford, Procter & Gamble, Dynex, HBT, Hope Bancorp, NXP Semiconductors, Cadence Design Systems, Whirlpool, Logitech International, Liberty Global, Verizon Communications, General Motors, General Electric, GE, Spotify, Raytheon Technologies, Daniels, Midland, Albertsons Companies, ACI, Polaris Industries, Inc, Dow Chemical, DOW, Xerox, Texas Instruments, WM, Canadian National Railway Company, Chubb Corporation, Universal Health Services, Powell, Boeing, Hilton, Union Pacific, General Dynamics, Quest Diagnostics, Otis Worldwide, Grill, Lam Research, eBay, EBAY, Mattel, Hewlett Packard, L3Harris Technologies, Gross, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Southwest Airlines, Mastercard, Myers Squibb, Northrop Grumman, Hertz, Tractor Supply Company, HCA Healthcare, Boston, Hershey, Comcast, Harley, Norfolk Southern, Intel, Mobile, United States Steel Corp, KLA Corporation, Boston Beer Company, Nation Entertainment, Texas, Procter, Gamble, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Charter Communications, AstraZeneca, Colgate, Palmolive, Newell Brands, Sanofi, Dwight, Jim Cramer's Charitable, CNBC, New York Stock Exchange, Getty Locations: U.S, Hollywood, Cleveland, Corning, Kimberly, Bristol, Norfolk

☆ Here are Thursday's biggest analyst calls: Tesla, Netflix, Chevron, Alphabet, Apple, Nvidia, IBM and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Morgan Stanley reiterates Tesla as equal weight Morgan Stanley said it's standing by its equal-weight rating on Tesla after its earnings report Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upgrades Anheuser-Busch InBev to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said the beer giant's valuation is attractive right now. Morgan Stanley reiterates Microsoft as overweight Morgan Stanley said the company is a top pick heading into earnings next week. Bank of America reiterates Alphabet as buy Bank of America said it's bullish on the stock heading into earnings next week. Bank of America reiterates IBM as buy Bank of America said it's standing by its buy rating on the artificial intelligence beneficiary after its earnings report Wednesday. "

Persons: it's, Morgan Stanley, Tesla, Bud, Wolfe, NVDA, Estée Lauder, Skyworks, McDonald's, Wells, Wells Fargo, it's bullish, Goldman Sachs, ServiceNow Organizations: Credit Suisse, Apple, Suisse, Vision, Tesla, Anheuser, Busch InBev, RBC, Nvidia, Barclays, UBS, Chevron, Bank of America, Netflix, Deutsche Bank downgrades Avis Budget, Deutsche Bank, Avis Budget, Walmart, " Bank of America, IBM, Citi Locations: underperform, China

[1/5] A Domino's staff member stands next to a sign for a 49-rupee pizza at a restaurant in Noida, India, July 4, 2023. A: With the world's cheapest Domino's pizza. "You are coming to the store or open the app, because there is a 49-rupee callout," he said, adding that Domino's global team supported the plans. Domino's global HQ referred queries about India to its local franchisee. When Khetarpal visited Domino's stores in Chennai and other cities, he said he saw customers emptying out their pockets and only being able to scrape together 49 rupees.

Persons: Adnan Abidi, Sameer Khetarpal, Khetarpal, Merrill Pereyra, They'll, Akshay Jatia, Westlife, It's, Devanshu Bansal, Kiran Raj, Praveen Paramasivam, Aditya Kalra, Saurabh Sharma, Jatindra, Brenda Goh, Hilary Russ, Abhirup Roy, Miyoung Kim, Pravin Organizations: REUTERS, U.S, India, Sapphire Foods, Domino's, Burger King's, Restaurant Brands, Euromonitor, Yum Brands, Global Financial Services, Pravin Char, Thomson Locations: Noida, India, CHENNAI, DELHI, America, Shanghai, San Francisco, Burger, zeroing, Pizza, New Delhi, Chennai, Burger King's India, United States, U.S, Lucknow, Bhubaneswar, New York, Singapore

☆ McDonald's Grimace-themed social media craze can also boost its shares, Truist says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The social media success of McDonald's Grimace-themed birthday meal could be good news for the fast food chain's earnings and share price, according to Truist. Analyst Jake Bartlett raised his price target on McDonald's, which he rates a buy, to $335 from $327 previously. A highlight of the meal for customers — and a centerpiece of a social media craze — was a purple-colored, berry-flavored milkshake. To be sure, Bartlett said Truist data shows multiple other chains talso beating expectations for sales in the latest quarter amid surging demand. Of eight chains, data shows just two — Wendy's and Chipotle — could see slight misses on sales forecasts, he wrote.

Persons: McDonald's, Jake Bartlett, —, Barlett, Trisha Paytas, Bartlett, Chipotle, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Locations: Monday's

☆ Here are Tuesday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Alphabet, Pinterest, Netflix, Amazon, Nvidia & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here are Tuesday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Jefferies reiterates Apple as buy Jefferies said it's expecting a "quiet quarter" when the company reports earnings Aug. 3. Wells Fargo reiterates Netflix as overweight Wells said it's bullish heading into the company's earnings report Wednesday. Jefferies reiterates Alphabet as buy Jefferies said it's bullish heading into Alphabet earnings next week. Bank of America downgrades Lumentum to neutral from buy Bank of America called the stock an "overstated" AI beneficiary. JPMorgan reiterates Amazon as overweight JPMorgan said the e-commerce giant is its top pick heading into earnings. "

Persons: Jefferies, it's, Wells, Truist, Piper Sandler, Dave, Buster's, Piper, Bernstein, Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Max, Roth, Uber, Roth MKM, it's bullish, Morgan Stanley, Evercore, Marvell, Williams Deutsche, Sherwin Williams, JPMorgan Organizations: Apple, Netflix, Argus, Warner Brothers Discovery, Citi, Polaris Citi, 2Q, Bank of America, Nvidia, American Express, Digital, Marvell Technology Inc, Global, Inc, Deutsche Bank, Sherwin, JPMorgan Locations: capex

☆ McDonald's China owners Carlyle, Trustar plan $4 bln exit - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 13 (Reuters) - Carlyle Group Inc (CG.O) and Trustar Capital are planning to raise $4 billion from wealth funds to buy part of their stakes in McDonald's Corp (MCD.N) operations in Hong Kong and mainland China, Bloomberg News reported. All stakeholders are highly aligned on the process," McDonald's China said in an emailed response to Reuters on Thursday. The asset managers aim to reach an agreement with investors in the fourth quarter of this year, the report added. Carlyle declined to comment, while GIC did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reuters had reported in April citing two people with knowledge of the matter that the U.S.-based private equity firm was discussing various options including setting up a continuation fund with financial advisers for its stake in McDonald's China.

Persons: Carlyle, Mubadala, GIC, Shubhendu Deshmukh, Brenda Goh, Urvi, Rashmi Organizations: Carlyle Group Inc, Trustar, McDonald's Corp, Bloomberg News, Reuters, McDonald's, Shareholders, Mubadala Investment, GIC, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, China, McDonald's China, U.S, Bengaluru

New Delhi CNN —From butter chicken to paneer makhani, Indian cuisine is unthinkable without the ubiquitous tomato. Asha, a homemaker in the capital who asked to be referred to only by her first name, told CNN the increase has hit her seven-member family hard. Some of McDonald’s (MCD) restaurants across the country have temporarily stopped serving tomatoes on their burgers, citing quality issues and shortages of supply. Of the tomatoes that were harvested, over 90% were infected by seed-born viruses, Gadve told CNN, which further exacerbated the supply shortage. Devinder Sharma, an India-based agriculture policy expert, told CNN the current shortage was also caused in part by farmers throwing away their tomatoes because no one was buying them.

Persons: Asha, “, Raghav Chadha, ” Chadha, Jocelyn Boiteau, Boiteau, Sriram Gadve, ”, Gadve, Devinder Sharma, Sharma, ” Gadve Organizations: New, New Delhi CNN, Department of Consumer Affairs, CNN, Connaught, Restaurants, Aam Aadmi Party, Twitter, Tata, Cornell Institute for Agriculture, Nutrition, University of Cambridge, Vegetable Growers Association Locations: New Delhi, India, Asia, heatwaves, India’s

☆ McDonald’s is getting rid of these sweet menu items
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The chain confirmed that its McCafé bakery lineup, consisting of an apple fritter, blueberry muffin and cinnamon roll, is being phased out beginning this month. McDonald’s (MCD) rolled out the bakery lineup in October 2020, marking the first time in roughly a decade that it sold new bakery items. However, breakfast sales at McDonald’s rebounded in recent quarters as people return to the office and people resume their pre-Covid routines. Discontinuing the bakery lineup comes as McDonald’s recently expanded a partnership with Krispy Kreme to sell donuts at nearly 200 locations in Kentucky. For McDonald’s, the partnership looked to attract new customers in the morning when business has remained steady.

Persons: New York CNN —, McDonald’s, it’s, Krispy Organizations: New, New York CNN, CNN, McDonald’s, Group Locations: New York, Kentucky

The government blames the higher prices of tomatoes on a lean production season when monsoon rains disrupt transport and distribution, but it comes after consumers have battled higher prices of items ranging from milk to spices in recent months. "Despite our best efforts, we are not able to get adequate quantities of tomatoes which pass our stringent quality checks," read notices posted in two McDonald's stores in New Delhi, the capital. The problem was seasonal and forced 10% to 15% of its stores to stop serving tomatoes temporarily, it said. McDonald's Delhi stores still offer sachets of tomato ketchup, however, and a nearby Subway restaurant said there were no issues serving tomatoes. "Tomato prices running high?

Persons: Price, Westlife, Vijay Sharma, Riddhima Talwani, Rajendra Jadhav, Praveen, Aditya Kalra Organizations: Connaught Plaza Restaurants, Subway, Tata, Thomson Locations: India, DELHI, MUMBAI, New Delhi, Connaught, India's, Delhi, Mumbai

☆ Resetting student loans brings Econ 101 lessons
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling against President Joe Biden’s student loan forbearance erases as much as $20,000 in potential relief for graduates. Combined with the resumption of debt payments, borrowers will be feeling the pinch in their wallets and their confidence. The court said on Friday that a plan to wipe out swathes of student loans was unconstitutional, ending hopes of an easier financial future for some 43 million borrowers. If the Supreme Court had supported the relief, it also risked stoking inflation just as it slides to a healthier level. The proposal aimed to relieve $10,000 of student loans for individuals earning less than $125,000 annually, and an additional $10,000 for eligible borrowers who received Pell Grant subsidies.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, Mark Zandi, Taco, Pell Grant, Donald Trump, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, U.S, Supreme, White, Census Bureau, U.S . Federal Reserve, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Taco Bell, Yum Brands, Biden, Democratic, Congressional, Office, Former U.S, Thomson

☆ Breakingviews: Student-loan ruling offers Econ 101 crash course
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling against President Joe Biden’s student loan forbearance erases as much as $20,000 in potential relief for graduates. Combined with the resumption of debt payments, borrowers will be feeling the pinch in their wallets and their confidence. Had Biden’s policy covered $10,000 of their debt, the typical monthly payment would have shrunk by about a quarter. If the Supreme Court had supported the relief, it also risked stoking inflation just as it slides to a healthier level. CONTEXT NEWSThe U.S. Supreme Court on June 30 ruled 6-3 against President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive student loan debt for some 43 million borrowers.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, Mark Zandi, Taco, Pell Grant, Donald Trump, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, U.S, Supreme, White, Census Bureau, U.S . Federal Reserve, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Taco Bell, Yum Brands, Biden, Twitter, Democratic, Congressional, Office, Former U.S, Thomson

☆ How restaurants such as Panera and Chipotle are dipping into A.I. to streamline food prep and ordering
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Kate Rogers | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

From drive-thru to back-of-house operations to predictive ordering for consumers, restaurant brands are starting to pilot artificial intelligence to streamline food service. McDonald's , for its part, sold McD Tech Labs to IBM in 2021, entering a strategic partnership to help bring AI technology to drive-thru lanes. McD Tech Labs, which was formerly known as Apprente before McDonald's acquired it, used AI to understand drive-thru orders. Del Taco is also using voice-activated AI for orders at its drive-thru, as is Wingstop for orders placed by phone. For Panera, it's a question of, "How do we redeploy our people to higher value, higher quality guest experiences," said Chief Digital Officer George Hanson.

Persons: there's, TD Cowen, Andrew Charles, Cowen, Charles ., Carl's Jr, CKE, Dragontail, McDonald's, George Hanson, Hanson Organizations: National Restaurant Association, Presto, Brands, Tech Labs, IBM, Miso Robotics, CNBC Locations: U.S, Del

June 15 (Reuters) - Mediterranean restaurant chain Cava Group (CAVA.N) notched a valuation of $4.7 billion in a stellar market debut on Thursday, signaling the IPO market was gaining momentum after a lull in 2022. Shares opened at $42 apiece on the NYSE, nearly double the IPO price of $22, last up 89%. Cava sold about 14.4 million shares in the offering, raising $318 million. “We think the markets are always welcoming long-term sustainable growth stories, especially category defining brands, as we try and define the Mediterranean category,” Cava Co-founder and CEO Brett Schulman said. Cava was founded by three friends with Greek roots — Ted Xenohristos, Ike Grigoropoulos and Dimitri Moshovitis — and opened its first restaurant Cava Mezze in Rockville in 2006.

Persons: Cava, Matthew Kennedy, Johnson, Brett Schulman, Ted Xenohristos, Ike Grigoropoulos, Dimitri Moshovitis —, Morgan, Jefferies, Manya Saini, Savyata Mishra, Echo Wang, Vinay Dwivedi Organizations: NYSE, Renaissance Capital, Reuters, Rivian, ”, Restaurant Brands, Cava, Citigroup, Thomson Locations: Cava, CAVA, United States, ” Cava, Rockville, Bengaluru, Echo, New York

☆ Here are Monday's biggest analyst calls: Oracle, Tesla, McDonald's, Amazon, Nio, Carnival, AMD and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

UBS reiterates McDonald's as buy UBS said McDonald's is "well positioned to drive further sales growth and market share gains." JPMorgan upgrades Carnival to overweight from neutral JPMorgan said it sees an "attractive risk/reward" for the cruise operator. Bank of America upgrades Carnival to buy from neutral Bank of America said it's getting bullish on cruise demand. Morgan Stanley upgrades Sentinel One to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said the cybersecurity company has an attractive risk/reward. Morgan Stanley reiterates Home Depot as overweight Morgan Stanley said it's bullish on the company's long-term growth outlook.

Persons: McDonald's, it's, Morgan Stanley downgrades Bill.com, Morgan Stanley, Wolfe, Tesla, Nomura, Evercore, Wedbush, it's bullish, Argus, Abercrombie, Jefferies Organizations: UBS, JPMorgan, JPMorgan Chase, Petrobras, CCL, Bank of America, of America, Intuit, Oracle, Disney, Auto, Citi, U.S . Bancorp Citi, U.S . Bancorp, Sentinel, AMD, Abercrombie, Fitch

[1/5] Customers stand next to a counter at a Starbucks' outlet at a market in New Delhi, India, May 30, 2023. Starbucks plans to open more stores in smaller towns, said an industry source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Soon after Starbucks' May launch of $3.33 milkshakes, designed to attract children, Third Wave launched its own range, a fifth cheaper at $2.71. He saw Starbucks' cheaper, small-sized drinks as a response to competition in "an incredibly price-sensitive market". "Going deeper into smaller cities, beyond the metros, is the only way to grow," said Ankur Bisen, head of retail at India's Technopak Advisors.

Persons: Sushant Dash, Tim Hortons, Devangshu Dutta, We've, chai, Chas Hermann, Sushant Goel, Matt Chitharanjan, Dash, Ankur Bisen, Sriram, Aditya Kalra, Anushree Fadnavis, Varun Vyas, Euan Rocha, Miyoung Kim, Sophie Yu, Hilary Russ, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: REUTERS, MUMBAI, Blue, Starbucks, Tata Group, BET, CHAI, Wave, Third, Reuters, Blue Tokai, India's Technopak, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, American, DELHI, U.S, Blue Tokai, China, Singapore, United States, Bengaluru, Delhi, Aurangabad, Beijing, New York

☆ Warren Buffett – he invests just like us!
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Jeffrey Goldfarb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

NEW YORK, June 7 (Reuters Breakingviews) - “Do as I say, not as I do” sounds like the kind of pithy thing Warren Buffett might say to his adoring throngs. The conglomerate was an investor for a dozen years, until Buffett got spooked by Freddie Mac’s overly rosy earnings growth projections. The $1.3 billion stake it finished accumulating in 1994 was worth $25 billion last month. A $13 billion stake in IBM (IBM.N) came and went, as did $8 billion of JPMorgan (JPM.N) and almost $3 billion of biopharmaceutical company AbbVie (ABBV.N). Warren Buffett, Berkshire’s chairman and CEO, said that geopolitical tensions contributed to the decision to sell most of the $4.1 billion TSMC stake just a few months after buying it, the Nikkei reported on April 11.

Persons: Warren Buffett, can’t, There’s, Buffett, Freddie Mac, Freddie Mac’s, Coke, Benjamin Moore, TSMC, ”, Wells, ” Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway, John Foley, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Berkshire Hathaway, Home Loan Mortgage, U.S ., Berkshire, BNSF, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Buffett, ” Morningstar, Treasury, New York Stock Exchange, American Express, IBM, JPMorgan, Activision, Occidental Petroleum, Paramount Global, Oracle, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Nikkei, Thomson Locations: Berkshire, U.S, TSMC . Berkshire, Japan, Taiwan, Omaha, China

☆ Russia's McDonald's heir growing quickly, in for the long haul
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Olga Popova | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

McDonald's Corp (MCD.N) closed its Russian restaurants soon after Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, eventually selling to a local licensee, Alexander Govor. The chain has sold more than 24 million of its Big Mac replacement burgers, the Big Hit, CEO Oleg Paroev said. Hamstrung by agreements with McDonald's, Vkusno & tochka, can not open restaurants in countries where McDonald's already has a presence. Russian authorities and Govor have said McDonald's has an option to buy back its Russia restaurants within 15 years. It would find a market where Vkusno & tochka is the master franchisee should it do so.

Persons: Alexander Govor, Govor, Oleg Paroev, Natalya Fadeeva, Evgenia, I've, McDonald's, Olga Popova, Alexander Marrow, Sharon Singleton Organizations: McDonald's Corp, Reuters, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine MOSCOW, Moscow, Ukraine, Russian, McDonald's, Belarus, Kazakhstan

☆ McDonald’s new battle over the way the Big Mac and fries are packaged
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Carolyn Chun | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Reusable packaging may be next. McDonald's biggest reusable packaging changes are outside US McDonald's has made several big packaging changes in recent years, mostly coming from outside the U.S. and following governmental action. And at the end of last year, McDonald's France launched a reusable plastic food container in its signature red color – though not without initiating a new controversy over the decision to not use all glass or metal. There are many challenges that come with reusable packaging, and McDonald's has looked to highlight that as it agrees to conduct more research on the reusables economy. The economics case for reusable packagingAdvocates for reusable packaging argue that the economics will work.

☆ Here’s what’s getting cheaper at the grocery store
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Those menu prices went up by 0.6%. Shoppers started seeing relief in the grocery store in March, when grocery prices fell for the first time since September 2020. In the year through April, food prices went up by 7.7%, with grocery prices jumping 7.1% and menu prices increasing 8.6%. Ham got 6.5% more expensive, poultry prices rose 5%, and fish and seafood rose 2%. Prices in AprilEven though prices food prices overall have been high this year, April was an easier month for shoppers.

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