Thursday January 23, 03:31 PM

Big Macs lose their bite

McDonald's has announced its first-ever quarterly net loss - £212 million.

It's bottom line has been hit by a raft of charges and write-offs aimed at helping it pull out of an unprecedented slump.

The burger giant has also confirmed it is cutting back further on its rapid expansion pace.

It's closing a total of 600 restaurants this year - 400 of them traditional McDonald's.

But is opening another 850 traditional McDonald's restaurants and 530 of its other brand restaurants in 2003,.

McDonald's has been struggling due to growing consumer weariness with fast food, a crowded restaurant market and its own problems with speed and service.

It was founded in the US in 1955 and has been publicly traded since 1965.

 http://uk.news.yahoo.com/030123/4/dmkox.html