McDonald’s extreme-green shamrock shake is going nationwide for the first time, the fast food franchise revealed on Wednesday.
The leprechaun-colored shake is currently available at every one of McDonald’s (, Fortune 500) 14,000 U.S. restaurants, according to company spokeswoman Ashlee Yingling.
The shamrock shake itself isn’t new. It’s been offered by McDonald’s restaurants at or around St. Patrick’s Day since 1970. But in the past, only certain restaurants offered the familiar green shake.
In its 42 years of existence, the shamrock shake has developed what McDonald’s refers to as a "cult-like" following among certain aficionados who prize its vivid-green hue.
So where does the shamrock shake gets its color? It’s basically a vanilla shake with mint flavor, said Yingling, and it gets the green hue from the syrup.
Like many of McDonald’s products, the shamrock shake once had its own mascot, named Uncle O’Grimacey, who appeared in commercials while singing a jaunty jingle about the shake.
O’Grimacey is an Irish version of the more well-known Grimace character, a rotund, purple creature of uncertain origin. O’Grimacey is green, of course, and unlike the naked Grimace, he wears clothes: a vest with shamrocks on it and a top hat of the sort worn by leprechauns.
But O’Grimacey won’t be pitching the shamrock shake this year.
"We will not be bringing back Uncle O’Grimacey or the jingle you referenced," said Yingling, when asked about his whereabouts.
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In fast food parlance, the shamrock is considered a "special" shake because of its exotic look and flavor. Not one to be outdone, the fast food franchise Jack in the Box () offers its own "special" drink: the bacon shake.
The bacon shake debuted on Feb. 2 and is only available for a limited time at certain restaurants, said Jack in the Box spokesman Brian Luscomb.
He said the bacon shake contains bacon-flavored syrup. But it contains no actual bacon, so it could actually be consumed by vegetarians, so long as they don’t mind milk products.
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The bacon shake also contains a lot of calories: 773 for a 16-ounce drink, according to Jack in the Box. That’s more than a 16-ounce shamrock shake, which contains 680 calories, according to McDonald’s.
But what did you expect? It’s a milk shake!
"Shakes are typically higher in fat and calories, but the bacon shake has about the same nutritional content as the other shakes," said the Luscomb, comparing it to other Jack in the Box products.
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World markets mostly rose Wednesday on hopes that the U.S. economic recovery will gather pace, helping corporate earnings and easing some of the stress generated by Europe’s debt crisis.
Stocks have been largely buoyant since U.S. jobs data last week showed an increase in the rate of hiring, suggesting that American consumer spending _ one of the drivers of world economic growth _ could recover faster than expected.
In Europe, however, the outlook is dark. Though Germany’s economy expanded 3 percent in 2011, new figures Wednesday implied it contracted slightly in the fourth quarter. Earlier figures showed industrial production and retail sales had fallen in recent months, indications that even Europe’s largest economy is feeling the pinch of the debt crisis.
Those concerns were mostly offset Wednesday by hopes that an improving U.S. economy would translate into solid fourth-quarter profits, which companies will announce over the next few weeks.
One positive early sign came from aluminum maker Alcoa _ considered an economic bellwether because so many companies use its products _ which said late Monday that its fourth-quarter revenue far outpaced analysts’ projections.
By mid-morning, Germany’s DAX gained 0.1 percent to 6,167.64 and France’s CAC-40 rose 0.6 percent to 3,230.51. while Britain’s FTSE 100 was flat at 5,695.42.
Wall Street appeared set for small gains on the open, with Dow Jones industrial futures up 0.1 percent at 12,406 and the broader S&P 500 futures also up 0.1 percent, to 1,286.90.
European debt markets also improved, with Italy’s benchmark 10-year bond yield falling below the 7 percent threshold that many consider dangerous over the longer-term. The performance of Italian bonds is a key indicator for the eurozone debt crisis because the country, the currency bloc’s third-largest economy, is too large to bail out.
Italian Premier Mario Monti was meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin later in the day, and will likely ask for greater support from fellow EU countries.
In an interview with Germany’s Die Welt newspaper, Monti said Italy wanted to see more concrete support in exchange for having passed painful austerity measures.
Some economists say the European Central Bank should help Italy more by buying its government bonds on the open market in larger quantities. That would lower Italy’s borrowing rates and ease pressure on its finances free online credit report. But the ECB, along with Germany, resists such a move.
The ECB will hold its monthly policy meeting on Thursday but most economists expect it to keep interest rates steady.
Another key focus in the debt crisis is Greece’s talks with private creditors about having them take a 50 percent cut in their Greek bondholdings. That demand is considered crucial to reducing Greece’s enormous debt load, and Merkel has indicated that Greece would not get any more rescue loans until that deal is clinched. A deal is expected by next week, according to Greek officials.
Earlier in Asia, financial markets closed mostly higher on expectations that China will tweak its monetary policy to encourage growth, but in a limited way to prevent inflaming its already sizzling property market.
Andrew Sullivan, principal sales trader at Piper Jaffray in Hong Kong, said he believes a move from monetary authorities could come shortly after Chinese New Year, which begins Jan. 23 and lasts a week.
“I think we’re in a little bit of a wait-and-see period. A lot of larger things are waiting in the wings at the moment,” he said.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.3 percent to close at 8,447.88. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.8 percent to 19,151.94. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 added 0.9 percent to 4,187.50.
Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan, and India also rose. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.4 percent at 1,845.55.
Mainland Chinese shares edged lower as traders booked profits following two days of sharp gains. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.4 percent while the Shenzhen Composite Index was marginally lower at 880.71. Inflation data was expected out of China on Thursday.
Commodity prices, which rose on expectations that China’s economy will continue to grow this year, helped boost mining and energy shares.
Benchmark crude for February delivery lost 12 cents to $102.12 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 93 cents to finish at $102.24 per barrel in New York on Tuesday.
In currency trading, the euro fell to $1.2759 from $1.2790 late Tuesday in New York. The dollar rose to 76.97 yen from 76.82 yen.
President Hugo Chavez defended his close ally Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday and warned of “U.S. warmongering threats” amid tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program and a death sentence against an American man convicted of working for the CIA.
The two leaders met in Caracas on the first leg of a four-nation tour that will also take Ahmadinejad to Nicaragua, Cuba and Ecuador.
“We are very worried,” Chavez said of the pressures being put on Iran by the United States and its allies, which he accused of being a threat to peace.
“They present us as aggressors,” he said during an earlier break in his talks with his Iranian counterpart at the presidential palace.
“Iran hasn’t invaded anyone,” he added. “Who has dropped thousands and thousands of bombs … including atomic bombs?”
Ahmadinejad’s visit comes after the U.S. imposed tougher sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, which Washington believes Tehran is using to develop atomic weapons. Chavez and his allies back Iran in arguing the nuclear program is purely for peaceful purposes.
Adding to the tensions, Iranian state radio reported on Monday that a court in Iran has convicted dual U.S.-Iranian citizen Amir Mirzaei Hekmati of working for the CIA and sentenced him to death.
Both leaders joked that their relationship shouldn’t cause any concern.
Ahmadinejad said if they were together building anything like a bomb, “the fuel of that bomb is love.”
Chavez played on the same theme in his remarks: “We’s going to work a lot for some bombs, for some missiles, to keep the war going. Our war is against poverty, hunger and underdevelopment.”
The Venezuelan leader said in his nationally broadcast speech that Iranians assistance has helped the South American country build 14,000 homes as well as factories that produce food, tractors and vehicles.
“We will always be together,” Ahmadinejad said through an interpreter. Smiling as he put his hand on Chavez’s arm, the Iranian leader called the Venezuelan president “the champion of fighting against imperialism.”
Later during the leaders’ meeting, two memorandums were signed on promoting cooperation between the two nations in industrial matters and in worker training, officials said.
Iran finds itself under increasing pressure in the standoff over its nuclear program, and in response to the latest U.S. sanctions has threatened to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, an important transit route for oil tanker shipments.
Diplomats on Monday confirmed a report that Iran has begun uranium enrichment at an underground bunker, a development that increases fears among U.S. and European officials about Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Two diplomats spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because their information was confidential and based on an inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Chavez’s long-running confrontation with Washington also looks set to grow more antagonistic after the U.S Payday advance. State Department announced, just hours before Ahmadinejad’s arrival, that it was expelling Venezuela’s consul general in Miami, Livia Acosta Noguera, due to allegations that she discussed a possible cyber-attack against the U.S. government.
The expulsion followed an FBI investigation into accusations contained in a documentary aired by the Spanish-language broadcaster Univision last month. According to the documentary, Acosta discussed the possible cyber-attack while she was previously assigned as a diplomat in Mexico. The documentary was based on recordings of conversations with her and other officials, and also alleged that Cuban and Iranian diplomatic missions were involved.
Venezuela’s government had not responded Monday.
Beyond voicing strong criticism of the U.S., Ahmadinejad is also likely to look for ways to use his Latin American alliances to diminish the impact of sanctions on Iran’s oil industry, said Diego Moya-Ocampos, an analyst with consulting firm IHS Global Insight in London.
However, Moya-Ocampos predicted that “Venezuela is going to be very careful not to push its relationship with Iran beyond the U.S. tolerance limits,” so as not to risk being hit with more U.S. sanctions. Last year, the U.S. imposed sanctions on state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA for delivering at least two cargoes of oil products to Iran.
The U.S. government has also repeatedly accused Iran of sponsoring terrorism, and growing Iranian diplomatic ties with some Latin American countries have generated worries in Washington.
In Quito, Ecuador, Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino told reporters that Ecuador’s government “has no reason to stop having relations with Iran” and said his country recognizes Iran’s “right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.”
Argentina, which has good relations with Venezuela, also has warrants out for the arrests of Iran’s defense minister and other officials suspected of involvement in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights organization based in Los Angeles, urged Ahmadinejad’s hosts to tell Iran that they support Argentina’s demands for the extradition of those implicated in the attack. The organization also condemned Ahmadinejad for threatening Israel, saying in a statement on Monday that “honoring that trafficker of hatred with impunity involves his hosts as accomplices.”
Chavez accuses the U.S. and its allies of wrongly demonizing Iran. On Sunday, he rebuffed calls by U.S. officials for countries to insist that Iran stop defying international efforts to assess its nuclear program.
“What the empire does is make you laugh, in its desperation to do something they won’t be able to do: dominate this world,” Chavez said on television before Ahmadinejad arrived.
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After a customer backlash, Verizon Wireless on Friday dropped a plan to start charging $2 for every payment subscribers make over the phone or online with their credit or debit cards.
In a statement on its website Friday, the company said “customer feedback” prompted the decision to drop the “convenience fee” it wanted to introduce on Jan. 15.
Verizon wanted to steer people to electronic check payments, which are cheaper, and automatic credit card payments, which are more reliable.
A petition on Change.org against the fees had gathered more than 95,000 names by Friday afternoon, a day after Verizon, the country’s largest cellphone company, announced the fees. The petition was set up by Molly Katchpole, who earlier this year started a successful campaign to make Bank of America drop a $5-per-month fee for debit card use electronic check payday advance.
Payment processors for power companies usually charge “convenience fees” of up to $5 for every payment made by phone or online, but cellphone companies haven’t taken the step yet. The furor against Verizon hints that they may have to wait further.
Verizon Wireless serves 91 million phones and other devices on accounts that pay the company directly, and more who pay indirectly through other companies. It’s a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. of New York and Vodafone Group PLC of Britain.
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