McDonald’s Corp. on Friday reported stronger-than-expected March sales and possibly its best month ever in Europe, results it said will propel first-quarter earnings well above Wall Street estimates. Its stock jumped to the highest level since 1999. McDonald’s officials said they expect to report quarterly profit of about 62 cents a share when they disclose full results on April 20 – up roughly 27 percent from the first quarter of 2006 and 5 cents per share better than the consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.
Home Depot exec paid $134 million
The former chief executive of The Home Depot Inc., Bob Nardelli, was granted $134.5 million in compensation last year as valued by the company, according to an analysis of a regulatory filing by the world’s largest home improvement store chain Friday. A sizable chunk of the compensation was related to Nardelli’s severance package from the Atlanta-based company. Nardelli, who resigned from Home Depot in early January after six years with the company, received a salary of $2,331,538, a bonus of $3 million, non-equity incentive plan compensation of $3 million and other compensation of $100,202,137.
Dollar near new low against euro
The dollar traded near a record low against the euro Friday amid expectations that the Group of Seven would maintain its position on addressing worldwide economic imbalances. The euro bought $1.3539 in afternoon trading after climbing as high as $1.3547 earlier in the session – its highest level since January 2005.
IRS warning spotlights scams
The Internal Revenue Service on Friday warned of Internet scam artists trying to obtain people’s bank account numbers and other information by posing as a participant in a program offering free tax preparation software to low- and middle-income taxpayers. The tax agency said in a statement that the IRS’s Web site, www.irs.gov/, is the only way to access the Free File program. “The final days of the tax season always bring tax scams,” IRS Commissioner Mark Everson said in a statement. “Make sure you’re really dealing with the IRS. Taxpayers can feel safe using Free File, but the only way to do it is through the secure IRS.gov Web site.”
Google acquires online ad firm
Seeking to expand its already well-honed ability to sell targeted Internet advertisements, online search leader Google Inc. said it has agreed to pay $3.1 billion in cash to acquire ad-management technology company DoubleClick Inc. The two companies announced the deal after the markets closed Friday.
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