McDonald's: Sales Continue to Decline in the Middle East

McDonald's Chief Financial Officer Ian Borden announced on Wednesday that "international sales will continue to decline in the current quarter due to the conflict in the Middle East and weak demand in China, causing the company's shares to drop two percent in early trading." He stated at the "UBS Global Consumer and Retail Conference" that "comparable sales for the first quarter in the company's licensed international developmental markets will be slightly lower than the previous three-month period." Borden confirmed that "we continue to deal with the effects of the war in the Middle East. But we are also seeing what I would call a slow start in China this year." Global companies like McDonald's are also facing weak demand in China, where employment issues, a worsening real estate crisis, and economic uncertainties have dampened consumer sentiment.