May 10- KFC parent Yum Brands Inc reported on Friday an estimated 29 percent drop in April sales at established restaurants in China, where a bird flu outbreak is pummeling sales that were recovering from an earlier food safety scare.
The protests in the Motor City- which is struggling to recover from the hollowing out of its auto manufacturing sector- marked an expansion in organized actions by fast-food workers from ubiquitous chains owned by McDonald's Corp, Burger King Worldwide and KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut parent Yum Brands Inc..
SHANGHAI, May 10- Yum Brands Inc, the largest foreign fast-food chain in China, is strengthening its media strategy in the country in a bid to win back customer loyalty after a series of food scares that decimated sales this year. An avian flu scare earlier this year and reports of false mutton being sold in China have affected both its KFC and Little Sheep chains.
*Wendy's Q1 restaurant sales fall short, loses ground on "value". May 8- McDonald's Corp, Wendy's Co and other U.S. restaurants are battling for the attention of frugal diners with coupons, limited time offers and other promotions- a fight that could intensify if the costs of chicken and other key ingredients remain less pricey than feared.
*Wendy's Q1 restaurant sales fall short, loses ground on "value". *Taco Bell promotes $1 food deals.
WELLINGTON, May 7- Following are some of the lead stories from New Zealand metropolitan newspapers on Tuesday. Aaron Gilmore to face Parliament today: Shamed National MP Aaron Gilmore has been told to front up in public and to his colleagues today to explain his boozy behaviour last Saturday, but he is unlikely to be kicked out of the party.
SHANGHAI, May 6- Yum Brands Inc on Monday said its roughly 450 Little Sheep hot pot restaurants in China are not involved in a fake mutton scandal that is the latest tainted food saga to rock the country that is the fast-food chain's largest market.
SHANGHAI, May 6- Yum Brands Inc on Monday said its roughly 450 Little Sheep hot pot restaurants in China are not involved in a fake mutton scandal that is the latest tainted food saga to rock the country that is the fast-food chain's largest market.
BMC said it agreed to be acquired by a private equity group led by Bain Capital and Golden Gate Capital Corp for about $6.9 billion. **INERGY LP, Friday close $22.30, up 4 pct premarket. Some shareholders of Verizon Communications said they could be happy for the company to pay up to $130 billion for Vodafone Group Plc's stake in their U.S. wireless venture.
NEW YORK, May 6- Yum Brands Inc:.
A private equity group made up of Bain Capital and Golden Gate Capital Corp are nearing a deal to acquire BMC Software and an announcement could come as early as Monday, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday.
SHANGHAI, May 6- Shanghai authorities are testing mislabelled mutton from a wholesaler a government website said supplies a chain of hot pot restaurants run by U.S. fast food firm Yum Brands Inc, the latest safety scare to taint China's food industry.
*Credit Suisse raises price target to $72 from $70; rating outperform. For a summary of rating and price target changes on U.S. companies: Reuters Eikon users, click on RCH/US Reuters 3000 Xtra users, double-click RCH/US Reuters Station users, click. 1568.
*Poultry demand drops by 70-80 pct in eastern China. SINGAPORE/ BEIJING, April 25- A dropoff in Chinese demand for soybeans used to feed poultry and livestock could last for months, as consumers lose their appetite for poultry in response to a deadly bird flu virus outbreak and amid lingering images of rotting pig carcasses floating in a river.
April 24- KFC parent Yum Brands Inc expects sales at its KFC restaurants in China to recover by the end of the year and fears surrounding a bird flu outbreak to be short-lived, company executives told analysts during a conference call.