The MSM is attempting to spin the fourth quarter results of the biggest restaurant chain in the world as positive. The results sucked as you can see if you read their actual press release.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/mcdonalds-reports-growth-fourth-quarter-125800924.html
Their comparable store sales rose a paltry 0.1% in the fourth quarter. They are truly a canary in the worldwide coal mine. Their restaurants are all over Europe, Asia and the U.S. If the obese masses throughout the world can’t afford a McDonalds meal, things are really getting bad.
- Comparable sales fell 0.6% in Europe
- Comparable sales fell 1.7% in Asia
- Comparable sales rose a fractional 0.3% in the U.S.
What McDonalds didn’t include in their press release was how the sales were achieved. Sales are based on number of customers and ticket size. They vaguely mentioned that guest counts declined but provided no figures. The truth is that guest counts were down significantly and food inflation accounted for any increase in revenue. The situation is much worse than the spin.
At the very end of their little PR puff piece, the CEO admits that comparable sales will be NEGATIVE across the chain in January.
McDonalds is the restaurant for the masses. When their results are this bad, you know the spin from the MSM about economic recovery is complete and utter bullshit. There is a worldwide recession and it’s getting worse.
As Karl Denninger reports today, even the high end retailer Coach reported NEGATIVE comp store sales for the fourth quarter.
http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=216477
So you have the poor and the faux rich reducing their spending now. Sounds like an economic recovery to me. Buy stocks!!!
Administrator says:
The Market Ticker ® Commentary on The Capital Markets Posted 2013-01-23 08:13
by Karl Denninger
McDonalds’ — Beats But Warns
Oops….
$1.38 .vs. $1.33, sales light a touch at $6.95 billion.
The problem is in expectations — they are talking about January comps coming in negative, which is not something that usually happens with The Mickey D.
It seems that The Squeeze is indeed on; again, what I think everyone needs to be thinking about is forward guidance, not necessarily results.
What we keep seeing in the forward indicators are numbers that strongly imply at best flat economic conditions. The regional Fed surveys point to this repeatedly, yet nobody thinks this is a big deal, and of course this means that prices should go up for stocks.
But contemplate this: If The Fed is standing on the gas pedal and yet there is no traction of materiality being gained, what is really happening?
That’s not hard to figure out — all of this deficit spending, which is what The Fed is enabling and shoving into the economy, is in fact false demand that doesn’t exist in the economy as a whole.
The idea that one should “jump start” the economy is a common chestnut, but we should be instead contemplating whether the previous 30+ years of economic patterns are reasonable — and sustainable. The answer is “No” — this “economic progress” has in fact come through debt accumulation that has surpassed improvements in economic output.
This is by definition a pyramid scheme since a percentage change on an ongoing basis must become evermore larger as time goes on.
The basic exponential curve is a mathematical expression that you can’t change.
Even if you’re McDonalds’.
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23rd January 2013 at 9:03 am
Eddie says:
Mickey D’s is the restaurant of the family with very young kids, too. A vanishing demographic except among the FSA.
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23rd January 2013 at 9:15 am
AWD says:
How in God’s name can anyone eat at McShit’s? Really, it’s not food, it’s soylent pink slime.
1. McShit
The act of using the public restroom in a fast food restaurant without purchasing any food. When challenged by a suspicious manager, the assurance of a subsequent purchase of said fast food is known as a “McShit with Lies”.
Dude, stop here, I can’t hold it in anymore. I gotta go for a McShit. Meet me at the Drive-Thru in a few minutes.
2. McShit
Usually 30 minutes after the complete ingestion of a McDonald’s meal one is faced with McCramps. These cramps are just like regular stomach pains, but differ in the fact that they are brought on by eating McDonalds.
Usually 10-15 minutes after the McCramps/McPains occur one will get the McFarts. These are generally farts with an odor similar to that of death. They reak and reak and generally cause people with you during that time to leave.
Finally, the McCramps get so bad that you run to the washroom and begin to expell feces. These feces are refered to as McShits. They are usually consist of diharea or some liquid and some solid parts. They also have an odor of death, and can cause one to pass out if they McShit too long. Generally, after a good round of McShits, the Large Intestine feels as if it has had an enema, and is generally happy until it one eats McDonald’s again.
After the McShits subside you are done with the cycle, or your body may still be undergoing the the “McShit” process, and one will continue to McFart until the McCramps go away. That is the signal to enter society once again.
Matt: Omg Dude McDonald’s is so good!
Sasa: I know, but it’ll be bad later man, trust me…
Matt: How do you figure?
Sasa: The McShits bro, you’ll see.
—– 30 Mins Later —–
Matt: Oh dude this is killing me! Ahh, what is this sensation?
Sasa: Thats the McCramps man… I told you!
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23rd January 2013 at 9:56 am
ThePessimisticChemist says:
@AWD – I get two things from there:
Sausage biscuit (its about a buck) and a caramel mocha, because star bucks is too damned expensive.
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23rd January 2013 at 10:07 am
Maddie's Mom says:
I haven’t eaten at a McDonald’s in over 20 years. Given a choice, I’d just as soon have a bologna sandwich :^P
They can disappear from the face of the earth for all I care.
And as for Coach, I think there are a lot of women, primarily, who shop there, that really and truly cannot afford it. If nothing else, they are bound to be losing some of those customers.
Maybe the cost of feeling “special” has finally gotten too steep.
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23rd January 2013 at 10:28 am
Lapaz says:
Awd – awesome made me laff
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23rd January 2013 at 11:21 am
youcanthavemyglock says:
LOL Just wait until the effects of the drought catch up with us in 2013, between buying ammo and food I will be broke forever in this shitty year.
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23rd January 2013 at 1:56 pm
AWD says:
Slime on!
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23rd January 2013 at 2:03 pm
Eddie says:
Look on the bright side. If kids quit eating McDonald’s, maybe autism will mysteriously go away.
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23rd January 2013 at 2:19 pm
Persnickety says:
I’ve eaten at McD’s three times in the last year and deeply regretted it each time.
Fun note: if you look at McD’s ingredients list, you will be AMAZED at how simple and wholesome they seem. As far as I can tell they found some way to keep using whatever awful chemicals they use but describe them as ordinary OK things. I’m speculating that this is fraud and not being investigated by anyone, but that’s just speculation. Although ZH did have a good story today on “food fraud” or ingredients not matching the claimed list.
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23rd January 2013 at 3:04 pm