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McDonald's Corp (MCD) on Monday reported a bigger-than-expected drop in comparable global sales at established restaurants for February, hurt by competition and bad weather that battered U.S. sales.The world's biggest restaurant chain by revenue said worldwide sales at restaurants open at least 13 months fell 0.3 percent last month. That was below analysts' average estimate for a fall of 0.1 percent, according to Consensus Metrix.

(Reuters) - Staples Inc (SPLS), the largest U.S. office supplies retailer, forecast a fall in current-quarter sales as it loses customers to mass market chains and e-retailers, and the company said it would close up to 225 stores in North America by 2015. Staples' shares fell 9 percent before the bell, after the company also posted lower-than-expected fourth-quarter results and forecast current-quarter profit below analysts' estimates. The company operates 1,515 stores in the United States and 331 stores in Canada.

ROSENBERG: 'The Chances Of A Recession In The Next Year Or Two Are Close To Zero' Robert Huebscher, Advisor Perspectives Mar. 4, 2014, 10:50 AM Following a lackluster recovery that began in June 2009, many fear the U.S. is due for another recession, given that the average post-war economic expansion lasted five years. But we’re only in the “fourth or fifth inning of the business cycle,” according to David Rosenberg, who predicts growth in consumer and capital spending – and positive returns for U.S. equities. “It takes a lot to shock the U.S. economy into a recession,” Rosenberg said. None...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve should be willing to let inflation temporarily run above its target level so as to more quickly bring the economy back to health, a top Fed official said on Friday, even as a second policymaker signaled the very idea left him cold. The debate, between Chicago Fed President Charles Evans and Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser, underscored a fundamental disagreement over the central bank's optimal approach to policy under new Fed Chair Janet Yellen. To Evans, one of the Fed's most dovish policymakers, allowing inflation to run above the Fed's 2-percent target would...

Consumer confidence sagged in February as expectations worsened, according to a private sector report released on Tuesday. The Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer attitudes fell to 78.1 from a downwardly revised 79.4 in January. Economists in a Reuters poll had expected 80.0. The expectations index fell to 75.7 from a downwardly revised 80.8 last month. But the present sit

NEW YORK - Writer Jen Singer, the mother of two teenage boys, wrestles with her grocery list every week to keep the household budget from getting away from her. "I'd like the government to stop by my house, come food shopping with me and see where the real costs are," she said. The adage "An apple a day keeps the doctor away" is impossible thanks to apple prices, she said. "We go through one of these every few days," she said, holding a loaf of bread. "It's a big part of my take home pay."

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. manufacturing output unexpectedly fell in January, recording its biggest drop in more than 4-1/2 years, as cold weather disrupted production in the latest indication the economy got off to a weak start this year. Though consumer sentiment was steady in early February, there are worries the persistent and widespread harsh weather could dampen the morale of households, whose budgets are being stretched by soaring heating bills. "The big question is whether the U.S. economy is slowing significantly or whether it is merely going through a soft patch caused by extreme weather. The evidence points to the...

Forget about the 1 percent versus the 99 percent. It’s really more like the 0.000001 percent versus everybody else. A tiny group — mostly comprising the Obama White House, a bunch of Washington Democrats, progressive economists, and the media elite — continues to fixate on income inequality as America’s greatest challenge. Most everybody else, the 99.999999 percent, sees things differently. Surveys continue to show Americans most worried about jobs and economic growth, not the income gap between the top and bottom. It’s a rational view given new employment data from the government. The January jobs report showed only 113,000 net...

* The U.S. private sector created 175,000 jobs in January, slightly below the expectation of 180,000, while the data for December was revised lower to 227,000 from 238,000. December's data widely overshot a broader report from the Labor Department which showed just 74,000 jobs were created in December. The market-moving government report is due Friday.

The Affordable Care Act will reduce the number of full-time workers by more than two million in coming years, congressional budget analysts said Tuesday in the most detailed analysis of the law’s impact on jobs.

Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 610.66 pts or 4.18%, closing at 14,008.47. Toyota edged down by over 5%. Panasonic, Sharp and Hitachi will soon announce quarterly results. Nippon Paint tumbled 21% over the issuance of new shares.

2014 brought a role reversal of sorts for gold and equities, with the metal higher and stocks lower, in contrast to last year’s performance. With January drawing to a close, can gold hold its gains and will equities continue to fall? Technical charts may offer some clues, analysts said. As of 1:20 p.m. EST, gold for April delivery was $18.60 lower to $1,243.60 per ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange “Gold is returning to its historic role as a safe haven as we’re seen problems globally,” said Darin Newsom, senior analyst at Telvent DTN. “Equities...

By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose marginally last week, but the underlying trend suggested the labour market continued to steadily improve. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits ticked up 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 326,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims for the prior week were revised to show 1,000 fewer applications received than previously reported.

It is becoming laughable to hear the Obama administration talk about a so-called “recovery.” Supposedly, this “recovery” started in June of 2009; however, in reality our economy is on life support and the latest jobs figures just confirm this horrible news. In the government’s December labor report, the nation’s unemployment rate dropped to 6.7 percent, which is our lowest rate since October of 2008. While this may be heralded as good news, it is truly disturbing. Unfortunately, only 74,000 new jobs were added last month, the worst job growth numbers since January of 2011. This is anemic job creation,...

NEW YORK (AP) -- McDonald's reported disappointing sales for its fourth quarter Thursday, as the world's largest hamburger chain saw fewer customers visit its restaurants. The Oak Brook, Ill.-based company says global sales slipped 0.1 percent at established locations. In the U.S., where it recently revamped its Dollar Menu to include items that cost a little more, the figure fell 1.4 percent.

"So many people – politicians, journalists, I'm afraid market analysts – sort of believe this story of an economics recovery going on around the world," Roger Nightingale, strategist at RDN Associates, told CNBC. "This economics recovery hasn't occurred. In fact, actually for the past 18 months people have been talking about it, the data is pretty flat. If anything, it's getting flatter." .... "The conventional response, among economists, is that the government must take action to boost domestic demand in the United States, with either monetary or fiscal stimulus, or by redistributing wealth," he said in a note, citing the...

A recent Gallup poll revealed that the number one problem facing America, according to those polled, is “the government.” Twenty-one percent listed this as the worst problem facing the nation. Rounding out the top five problems were the economy (18%), unemployment (16%), healthcare (16%), and government debt (8%). These poll results were dramatically out-of-sync with President Obama’s declaration that “income inequality” is this nation’s chief problem. Only 4% of the poll respondents agreed with his assessment. As one poll respondent explained, “my work hours have been cut and my health insurance canceled. My wife has been unemployed for three years....

It's not even financials season yet, but Nintendo is trying to lower expectations in advance. In a statement today, it's announced that it's reassessed unit sales for its flagship Wii U console, shaving hacking it down from 9 million for April 2013 - March 2014 to just 2.8 million -- less than a third of the original estimate. It's also less than the number of Wii Us that Nintendo sold in its launch year. That was 3.45 million, if you're counting.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Intel Corp plans to reduce its global workforce of 107,000 by about 5 percent this year as the chipmaker, struggling with falling personal-computer sales, reprioritizes toward faster-growing areas, a company spokesman said on Friday. The announcement comes a day after Intel posted a fourth-quarter earnings report that did little to dispel concerns about a slowing PC industry. "This is part of aligning our human resources to meet business needs," spokesman Chris Kraeuter told Reuters on Friday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Best Buy Co Inc (BBY) reported a drop in total revenue and sales at its established U.S. stores in the all-important holiday season, sending shares tumbling more than 30 percent in early trading. The retailer cited intense discounting by rivals, supply constraints for key products and weak traffic in December. Best Buy's report was the latest evidence that holiday sales at many U.S. retailers came at the expense of margins.