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McDonald’s promotions lure diners despite higher menu prices and revenue jumps 14%

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:00 GMT

McDonald’s reported better-than-expected sales in the third quarter as popular promotions brought in customers despite higher U.S. prices.Global same-store sales — or sales at locations open at least a year — rose 8.8% in the July-September period, the burger giant said Monday. That was ahead of Wall Street’s forecast of an 8% increase, according to analysts polled by FactSet. In the U.S., same-store sales rose 8.1%. Price increases have weighed on customers. In July, McDonald’s said customers with annual incomes of $45,000 or lower are spending less on each order. But the company also said it was seeing more higher-income customers in its stores, those going to McDonald’s now, rather than spending money at sit-down restaurants.McDonald’s raised prices on some menu items in the U.S. But it also drew customers with promotions like a 50-cent double cheeseburger on National Cheeseburger Day in September. In the United Kingdom, the company offered discounts...

JinkoSolar: Q3 Earnings Snapshot

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:00 GMT

JIANGXI PROVINCE, China (AP) — JIANGXI PROVINCE, China (AP) — JinkoSolar Holding Co. (JKS) on Monday reported net income of $181.4 million in its third quarter.On a per-share basis, the Jiangxi Province, China-based company said it had net income of $2.53. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to $2.59 per share.The solar power product maker posted revenue of $4.36 billion in the period._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on JKS at https://www.zacks.com/ap/JKSSource

Healthpeak: Q3 Earnings Snapshot

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:00 GMT

DENVER (AP) — DENVER (AP) — Healthpeak Properties, Inc. (PEAK) on Monday reported a key measure of profitability in its third quarter. The results surpassed Wall Street expectations.The Denver-based real estate investment trust said it had funds from operations of $251.6 million, or 45 cents per share, in the period.The average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of 44 cents per share.Funds from operations is a closely watched measure in the REIT industry. It takes net income and adds back items such as depreciation and amortization.The company said it had net income of $64 million, or 12 cents per share.The health care real estate investment trust, based in Denver, posted revenue of $556.2 million in the period, also topping Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $543 million.Healthpeak expects full-year funds from operations in the range of $1.76 to $1.78 per share._____This story was generated by Automa...

Physicians Realty Trust: Q3 Earnings Snapshot

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:00 GMT

MILWAUKEE (AP) — MILWAUKEE (AP) — Physicians Realty Trust (DOC) on Monday reported a key measure of profitability in its third quarter. The results matched Wall Street expectations.The Milwaukee-based real estate investment trust said it had funds from operations of $61.2 million, or 25 cents per share, in the period.The average estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of 25 cents per share.Funds from operations is a closely watched measure in the REIT industry. It takes net income and adds back items such as depreciation and amortization.The company said it had net income of $12.3 million, or 5 cents per share.The health care real estate investment trust, based in Milwaukee, posted revenue of $138.5 million in the period, exceeding Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $136.9 million._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Rese...

NASCAR’s inspiring trailblazer: Armani Williams

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:00 GMT

Armani Williams is unlike anyone else in the world of NASCAR, where speed is the name of the game. For Armani, the racetrack is more than a passion; it’s his happy place, fulfilling a lifelong dream that started in childhood. “I say more of a happy place, because, you know, it’s something I’ve always dreamed of as of being a kid was to be a race car driver so, just being able to get in the car, strap those belts, putting the helmet on and then let’s get ready to go,” expressed Armani. Armani proudly embraces his unique position in the sport as the first diagnosed driver with autism, a condition that has never held him back from pursuing his love for racing. “People with autism, including myself, we have this special ability to have a laser-light focus on things that catch your interest,” explained Armani. “So, when it comes to me being in a race car, because everything happens so fast, you gotta have great levels of concentratio...

Top Boris Johnson aide turned on disappearing WhatsApps weeks before COVID inquiry unveiled

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:00 GMT

LONDON — A senior U.K. civil servant who worked closely with Boris Johnson turned on WhatsApp’s controversial disappearing messages function in a group used by government figures, weeks before the then-prime minister announced a public inquiry into the coronavirus pandemic. Testimony revealed in Britain’s COVID-19 inquiry Monday showed that Martin Reynolds — who served as Johnson’s principal private secretary — turned on the function on April 15, 2021 in a WhatsApp group containing senior figures including Johnson and other top No. 10 Downing Street advisers and civil servants.Johnson announced the public inquiry into coronavirus on May 12, 2021. The independent inquiry was set up to learn lessons from the pandemic, and demanded the mass disclosure of messages from the encrypted app. In public evidence sessions, the inquiry is grilling senior figures involved with the U.K.’s response to COVID-19. In an evidence session with Reynolds Monday, the former civil s...

Facebook and Instagram to offer paid subscriptions in Europe

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:00 GMT

Meta announced Monday that it would start offering paid-for subscriptions for Facebook and Instagram, its popular digital services, within the European Union from next month.Those forking out for a monthly subscription will not have their personal information used to target them with advertising, while those who do not pay will still have their data collected to power Meta’s lucrative advertising model. People will be able to pay between €9.99 and €12.99 a month, depending on whether they want to access the subscriptions via either the web or their smartphones. The fees will allow users to access both Facebook and Instagram. A company spokesman declined to comment when the subscription offering would become available in November.The move comes as Meta has faced a backlash from the 27-country bloc’s regulators, lawmakers and courts on how it has handled people’s data to service up personalized advertising. The EU’s privacy regime has made it increasingly diffi...

‘Dismay, disgust.’ French government condemns Marseille football violence

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:00 GMT

The French government on Monday condemned violence by Marseille football fans on Sunday, during which the visiting Lyon team’s bus was pelted with stones and beer bottles, and Lyon coach Fabio Grosso was injured by shards of glass.“Dismay, revolt, disgust. Then, obviously, a feeling of empathy, enormous thoughts for the coach, for the team, for the assistant coach, for the supporters,” said French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra on television channel France2.Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin on French channel BFMTV demanded an end to violent scenes at football stadiums and said nine arrests have been made so far. Oudéa-Castéra added that “what we saw in this stadium [is] almost all of what we do not want to see: homophobic remarks, racist signs.”The French sports minister added that “all the perpetrators of these unacceptable actions will have to be very severely punished.”French football has been repeatedly rocked by violence in recent years, with several incidents ...

Column: Dropped passes. Missed tackles. Bad penalties. Costly turnovers. Chicago Bears fall flat in another prime-time blowout.

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:00 GMT

Over the next several days, the Chicago Bears will spend significant time looking for answers, trying to better explain and interpret all that went haywire Sunday at SoFi Stadium. They will study film, engage in meetings and push for as many corrections and fixes as possible. But in the process, they will also look in the mirror and see what the rest of the football world witnessed on the “Sunday Night Football” stage in Week 8, which is an inconsistent and error-prone team that couldn’t stay competitive and was throttled from start to finish by the Los Angeles Chargers.Sunday’s final score was 30-13. But it really wasn’t that close with the Chargers taking the lead for good midway through the first quarter, extending their advantage to 17 points by halftime and coasting through the second half.Inside a glum visitor’s locker room, the Bears were again left to process their disappointment. It wasn’t just that they suffered their sixth loss in...

Five things we learned from the Ravens’ 31-24 win over the Arizona Cardinals

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:00 GMT

The Ravens made life more difficult than it needed to be but came away from Arizona with an unsightly 31-24 win thanks to red zone efficiency, a pair of interceptions and a dominant performance by nose tackle Michael Pierce.Here are five things we learned from the game.The Ravens reverted to sloppier ways, but they’re in the top tier of a messy leagueThe Ravens began their day with an illegal contact penalty that kept the Cardinals moving toward an opening touchdown. They ended it with their guts churning thanks to Nelson Agholor’s unsuccessful effort to pull in an onside kick.In between those anxious moments, they did plenty to nurture a 1-6 foe’s hopes for an upset. An offense that moved freely a week earlier in demolishing the Detroit Lions, 38-6, spent much of the afternoon driving tentatively.It would be overstating to say the Ravens courted disaster. Their defense — well, Pierce the one-man wall to be more precise — smothered the Cardinals on a pa...