SAN DIEGO, CA — (Marketwire) — 11/23/09 — Metatron, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: MRNJ) is pleased to announce that it has completed the acquisition of PB Magic, Inc. for five million shares of its restricted common stock valued at $0.15 per share.

Founded in 2000, PB Magic provides web hosting, design, development, custom programming, database integration, and PPC/SEC advertising campaign management to Fortune 500, public sector and small business clientele. The firm has been engaged by hundreds of high profile clients throughout its history including Boeing, Scudder Investments, ADM, and Yum! Brands (Kentucky Fried Chicken), and has averaged approximately $1.5 million in profitable revenue per year since inception.

Metatron CEO Joe Riehl said, “PB Magic delivers a unique combination of application management and implementation, hosting and content delivery services to provide full cycle support for today’s industry leaders. Apart from their own operations, we see PB Magic as the technological backbone and

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The international food and beverage giant Yum! Brands plans to acquire an additional 7.3% stake in the Chinese hot pot restaurant chain Little Sheep after taking a stake of over 20% in the company earlier this year. According to a report published by Little Sheep, Yum! has made provisional plans to buy 75,042,456 shares at the [...]

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG), the fast food chain operator, recently reported better-than-expected third quarter results. Earnings per share (EPS) surged 83.1% year over year to $1.08, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 88 cents. Menu price increase, new restaurant openings and selective cost cutting measures drove the growth in EPS.   Revenues for the reported quarter ascended 13.8% to $387.6 million driven by new restaurant openings and increase in comparable-store sales. The increase in comps was driven by 6% menu price increase, which in turn, helped offset the 2.5% decline in traffic counts. Chipotle was able to increase menu price, when other restaurant operators offered discounts to woo consumers in a recession. The average check increased by 5%.   Comparable-store sales growth has been decelerating since the second quarter of 2008 –when it increased 7.1% – although it remained positive, showing resilience in a turbulent environment. After ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 23, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: McDonald’s Corporation (MCD), Burger King Holdings (BKC), Yum! Brands (YUM), Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) and Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc. (HOT).

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Here are highlights from Thursday’s AnalystBlog:

McDonald’s Exceeds Zacks Numbers

McDonald’s Corporation (MCD) recently reported third-quarter 2009 results that topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate, driven by effective cost control and rise in comparable sales across all regions. McDonald’s quarterly earnings came in at $1.15 per share, up 10%

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McDonald’s Corporation (MCD) recently reported third-quarter 2009 results that topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate, driven by effective cost control and rise in comparable sales across all regions. McDonald’s quarterly earnings came in at $1.15 per share, up 10% from $1.05 reported in the prior-year quarter, and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.11 per share. The strong U.S. dollar continues to moderate results, trimming the earnings by 5 cents a share. Excluding foreign currency translation and gains, earnings increased 14% to $1.20 per share. Revenue for the quarter declined 4% to $6,046.7 million, but increased 2% in constant currencies. Revenue from company-operated restaurants declined 7% to $4,093.6 million, whereas revenue from franchise-operated restaurants increased by 5% to $1,953.1 million. Total operating income rose 6% to $1,932.8 million, but jumped 11% in constant currencies. Despite a sinking global economy, McDonald’s continues to grow same-store sales while ...

• Boeing (NYSE:BA) announced it will take a third quarter charge of $1 billion due to higher production costs and difficult market conditions for its 747-8 program. The firm will also delay, until 2010, the initial flight of its 747-8 jumbo freighter

• Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) released its new mobile-phone software to take on Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone

• Amazon.com (NYSE:AMZN) announced the company will begin selling an international version of its e-reader in over 100 countries. The firm also lowered the price of

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Third-quarter earnings season officially starts on Wednesday afternoon with Alcoa's (AA) report. The aluminum maker is expected to announce revenues of $4.5 billion and a loss of 11 cents per share. The results will look awful compared to last year because the commodity bubble peaked in Q308.

Joining AA will be 6 other S&P 500 members: Costco (COST), Family Dollar (FDO), Marriott (MAR), Monsanto (MON), Pepsi Bottling (PBG), PepsiCo (PEP) and Yum! Brands (YUM). We have confirmed scheduled reports from a total of 24 companies.

Economic data will largely take a backseat to the earnings news. There is comparatively little on the calendar, with the most newsworthy release being the September ISM services index. The weekly energy and mortgage applications reports could still influence trading, however.

Monday: September ISM services survey Wednesday: August consumer credit, September treasury budget, weekly crude inventories, weekly mortgage

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McDonald’s Corporation (MCD), the leading fast food chain, has been consistently enhancing its shareholders’ return by way of dividend and share repurchases. The company has paid dividends for 33 consecutive years and has increased the dividend amount every year. Recently, the company announced a 10% increase in its quarterly dividend, bringing the total quarterly dividend to 55 cents a share. The dividend is payable on December 15, 2009 to shareholders as on December 1, 2009. The total quarterly dividend payout is estimated to be about $600 million. Earlier, the company has raised its quarterly dividend in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2008 by 33%, following a 50% increase in fiscal year 2007. In September 2007, McDonald’s had announced its intention to return $15 billion to $17 billion to shareholders as dividend and through share repurchases from 2007 through 2009. This is nearly double what ...

Sonic Corporation (SONC), which operates and franchises a chain of quick-service drive-in restaurants, recently declared its preliminary fourth-quarter 2009 results for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2009. Sonic’s comparable sales continue to be hurt by a battered economic environment. Comps at Sonic slid 4.5% during the quarter compared to a 0.6% decline in the year-ago quarter. For partner drive-ins, in which the company owns a majority interest, comps fell 5.4% compared to a 6.3% decline posted in the prior-year quarter. The rate of decline in comps decelerated from the third-quarter of 2009 due to company’s sales driven initiatives, which include a new pricing model, enhanced consumer service and the introduction of value-for-menu products. Traffic count remained relatively flat year-on-year. Comps dipped 5.4% and 7.7% at Sonic and partner drive-ins, respectively, during third-quarter 2009. Despite a credit-constrained market, Sonic continues to expand aggressively. The company ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – September 18, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: CKE Restaurants, Inc. (CKR), McDonald’s Corporation (MCD), Burger King Holdings (BKC), Yum! Brands (YUM) and Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:

CKE Profit Slides Marginally

CKE Restaurants, Inc. (CKR) recently reported second-quarter 2010 results amid a crumbling economy, plagued by rising unemployment and waning consumer discretionary spending.

The operator of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's fast food chains’ second quarter profit slid less than a percent

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