MCDONALD 'S

Luigi Mangione is taken into the Blair County Courthouse on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Hollidaysburg, Pa.

U.S. authorities on Tuesday charged the man suspected of gunning down a health insurance CEO in New York earlier this month with murder, including a charge of second-degree murder "as an act of terrorism."

Luigi Mangione being led into court by police.

A 26-year-old man was arrested and charged with murder Monday in the targeted killing of a health insurance executive on the streets of New York, along with other violations.

A banner year came to a bumpy end for McDonald's, which lost sales in many markets due to the war in Gaza.

Global same-store sales - or sales at restaurants open at least a year - rose 3.4 percent in the October-December period, well below the 4.7 percent increase Wall Street was expecting.

McDonald's will pay 1.25 billion euros ($1.3 billion) in France to avoid a legal case over tax evasion between 2009 and 2020, under an agreement approved yesterday by a Paris court.    

Google takes the first place in this year's  BrandZ ranking of the most expensive brands in the world. Its value in dollars amounted to over $302 billion last year and it increased by 23%.

Following successful tests, McDonald's in Sweden and Finland are putting a vegan burger on their menu.

Consisting of a soy patty, bun, lettuce, pickles, onion, mustard, oil and an egg-free sauce, the vege-based sandwich would be rolled out December 28. 

However, the vegan alternative would not be coming to New Zealand, a local spokesman confirmed.