Roberto A. Ferdman

Prepare yourself for single-serving, instant Coke pods.

Cities across the US are struggling to meet local demand for salt amidst a stretch of unusually cold weather and slew of winter storms. 

French hamburger consumption has surged since 2000, according to research by French restaurant consulting firm Gira (link in French.) Nearly one out of every two sandwiches sold in France last year was a hamburger, up from one out of every seven in 2007, and one of every nine in 2000. In all, nearly one billion hamburgers were sold in the country in 2013, according to Gira’s estimates.

In Argentina, McDonald’s is running short of ketchup. And pretty much everyone has noticed.

The numbers: Meh. Yum Brands Inc., which owns KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, reported a fourth quarter profit of $321 million, down nearly 5% from the same period last year. Sales for the quarter came in at $4.18 billion, below analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. Yum Brands shares are down slightly on the news.

Chocolate spreads are on their way to becoming a pantry staple for Americans, and The Hershey Company isn’t about to miss out. The US-based chocolate maker recently started its own line of Nutella-like chocolate spreads, called Hershey’s Spreads. The spreads come in three flavors: chocolate, chocolate with almond, and chocolate with hazelnut.

The biggest hard alcohol drinkers on the globe aren’t cuddled up somewhere in sub-zero Siberia; they’re sipping on Soju, in South Korea.

The world’s biggest red wine drinking country isn’t France, Italy, or the US. According to a report released by Vinexpo and International Wine and Spirits Research (IWSR), China now guzzles 1.9 billion bottles a year—more red wine than any other nation on the planet.

Lines snaking out the door at lunchtime have long been a bottleneck to growth at US burrito chain Chipotle. But the company has a plan—a four-step plan, to be exact.

The numbers: Not good. Mattel, the maker of both Barbie and American Girl dolls, reported a profit of $369 million, down from last year’s $394 million adjusted figure (Mattel was forced to write down an $87 million litigation charge last year). Worldwide sales were disappointing, too. The $2.11 billion Mattel reported for its most recent quarter mark a 6% dip from the same period last year. Shares were down sharply in pre-market trading.

Scarlett Johansson is grappling with a flurry of criticism over her fallout with global charity Oxfam International. Her dual role as a goodwill ambassador for the charity and product pusher for the controversial Israeli soda machine company SodaStream proved too irksome for Oxfam. (The company’s factory in the Israeli settlements in the West Bank clashes with a growing boycott of goods produced in Jewish settlements in Palestinian territories.)

The numbers: Satisfying. Chipotle Mexican Grill reported a profit of $79.6 million for the quarter ending Dec. 31, 30% higher than the previous year. Sales reached a record $844 million, marking a jump of over 20% from 2012. Chipotle shares jumped 11% in after-hours trading on the news.

The numbers: Sweet. Fourth-quarter profits rose 24% as the Hershey Company posted earnings of $186 million. Revenues rose 12% to $1.96 billion, compared to the same three months of 2012.

If you think ketchup is king of American condiments, think again.

The numbers: Pretty bad. Nintendo reported a quarterly profit of 9.6 billion ($93 million). But both profit and sales are down sharply from last year. Nintendo’s profit for the nine months ending on Dec. 31, 2013 fell 30% year-over-year, while revenue dipped 8%.

Hot sauce is having more than just a moment; it’s having a decade.

Cocoa prices are climbing fast. Cocoa futures jumped to $2,868 per ton ($3,161 per tonne) on Jan. 27, the highest price since mid-September of 2011.

Americans love their McDonald’s Egg McMuffins. Europeans, not so much.

For its next trick, Starbucks may have your order ready before you enter the store.

The numbers: Impressive. Starbucks reported quarterly profit of $813 million, marking a near-30% jump from the same period last year. Revenue for the quarter soared to a record $4.2 billion. The company’s global comparable sales grew by 5% on the heels of a 4% spike in customer traffic.

The Argentine peso is plummeting. The currency fell nearly 18% today, its steepest drop since 2002, shortly after the country defaulted on its debt.

The numbers: Not good. McDonald’s reported quarterly profit of $1.4 billion for the fourth quarter of 2013, barely above the level of a year ago. Global comparable sales (i.e., sales at restaurants that have been open a year or more) fell slightly, while US comparable sales tumbled 1.4%. McDonald’s shares are down slightly in pre-market trading on the news. 

Lots of people like a bit of liquor every now and again, but that doesn’t mean they agree on what to fill the glass with. 

What’s guacamole without the lime? Fresh lime is an indispensable part of Mexican cuisine, but it’s getting harder to stomach its price.