Booming Mickey D's Plans European Surge

A rare beneficiary of the financial crisis, McDonald’s says it will build 240 new European locations and create 12,000 jobs, the Financial Times reports. The firm’s biggest expansion in 5 years will extend mainly to Spain, France, Italy, Russia, and Poland. “We’re certainly not slowing down,” said the president of McDonald’s Europe.

McDonald's was one of only two Dow members to see share values grow last year and expects to show a 10% surge in fourth quarter profits. The company's numbers were already rising thanks to an expanded menu, but as food prices inflate, a meal at McDonald's has become “a better deal than necessarily eating at home,” company executives say.
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