CHINA/USA: Price hike for Big Mac criticised

Burger behemoth McDonald’s has pushed up the price of its Big Mac meal in China by over 10%, to the anger of legislator Lee Cheuk-yan, who argued: “It is the right time for consumers to stop eating McDonald’s food.” The company claims however that the hike is a “strategic commercial decision” after a three-year price freeze prompted by the Asian economic crisis that began in 1997. And McDonald’s is still cheaper than other fastfood options, insisted a spokesman. In fact, the 158 Hong Kong branches of the chain are still the cheapest in the world, he added.