Consumers worldwide who are watching their spending bought more burgers at McDonald’s in October, leading to a big rise in sales at established locations for the fast-food leader.

Consumers worldwide who are watching their spending bought more at McDonald’s in October, leading to a larger-than-forecast rise in sales at established locations.

McDonald’s said third-quarter profit rose as consumers stretched by higher food costs bought $1 double cheeseburgers and specialty coffees.

The fast-food chain posted third-quarter profit of $1.19 billion, beating Wall Street estimates, on another quarter of strong sales both overseas and in the United States.

NEW YORK (AP) — McDonald’s Corp. said Wednesday it returned to profitability in its second quarter, helped by a gain from selling its interest in sandwich chain Pret A Manger and strong sales of breakfast items, chicken sandwiches and beverages.

Name-brand products make regular appearances on television shows, where they are typically written into a drama. But TV News? You bet.

McDonalds is sponsoring a song-contest using the jingle on MySpace. The official reason is the 40th anniversary of the Big Mac, but the then-and-now similarities are not entirely lost on the company.

McDonald’s said on Monday that global sales in May were up a stronger-than-expected 7.7 percent at established restaurants, and its shares rose more than 4 percent.

McDonald’s, Wal-Mart and other chains have halted sales of some tomatoes as health officials work to trace the source of a salmonella food poisoning outbreak.

McDonald’s has just introduced a Southern Style Chicken Sandwich — one that looks suspiciously like the signature sandwich of the Chick-fil-A chain.