While we're still aggressively waiting for a cupcake ATM to finally open up near us, investors are getting pumped up for new Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen's big first official speech on Tuesday -- And the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 1.18%) inched up 8 points Monday in eager anticipation.
It's all about the Dollar Menu. Or is it? McDonald's reintroduced its famed Dollar Menu just three months ago in the U.S. as the fancy new "Dollar Menu and More," but the publicity stunt hasn't had any impact on sales. In fact, the McDouble and small fries both now cost more than a dollar, resulting in some unhappy and confused McDonald's patrons walking into stores with four quarters in their pocket.
The takeaway is that investors didn't freak out like someone stole their Happy Meal toy. That's because McDonald's overall global sales were pretty greasy (in a good way) -- Europe has overtaken America as the chain restaurant's largest market and Asian sales rose nearly 6%. Although Ronald warned investors in its recent earnings report that January would be a tough month, the growing foreign appetite for Big Macs saved the Golden Arches Monday.
2. Carl Icahn gives up fight with Apple
Hasbro's (HAS 0.49%) earnings just aren't as fun as the products they make. The toy-creating legend reported Monday that sales nudged down from $130 million to $129 million from a year ago, after its classics My Little Pony and Transformers didn't make it into enough stockings this year. Companies like Hasbro are known to make up to 40% of their annual revenues during the holidays, so bad Christmas news made investors less than jolly.
The takeaway is that Hasbro isn't the only toy company that Santa's elves ignored this year -- rival Mattel (MAT 0.11%) had a poor holiday season, too, after Barbie and Fisher-Price toy demand shrank. Plus, Hasbro revealed that while physical toys weren't on kids' Christmas lists, games did enjoy a nice 2% sales increase from last year. Time for Monopoly.
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As originally published on MarketSnacks.com