Food prices are so high right now that McDonald’s will simplify its menu to lower costs. “We had across the globe 70 different, distinct versions of what a crispy chicken sandwich would look like,” the McDonald's CEO said. “I don’t need 70 different permutations of a chicken sandwich.” Fortunately, the global elite will be meeting in Davos next week to discuss the biggest issues facing our world, where food security and inflation (but perhaps not which country’s chicken sandwich should prevail) will be on the agenda.

The lowdown

• ✂️ Goldman Sachs is the latest company to announce thousands of job cuts.

• 🐜 Jack Ma cedes control of Ant Group clearing the way for an IPO.

• 💻 Rishi Sunak revives talks with SoftBank for LSE listing of chip designer Arm.

Flex your finance muscle

Crypto continues to do its best to penetrate mainstream finance and business and unfortunately, this newsletter is no exception. Today we are looking at:

The ‘Rug Pull’

A rug pull is a term used to describe a scenario in which the founders of a cryptocurrency project or token suddenly and unexpectedly sell their tokens, causing the price to crash and the project to be abandoned.

Generally, this results in significant losses for investors holding the tokens, who have had the metaphorical rug pulled from under them. Rug pulls are seen as dishonest and unethical, as the founders are taking advantage of their investors and profiting at their expense.

While examples of rug pulling in the crypto world abound, regulators are taking note. New York’s Attorney General is suing Celsius Network founder Alex Mashinsky, claiming he defrauded investors out of billions of dollars.

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Featured Stories

McDonald’s to add restaurants, cuts menu items and staff

Inflation means higher wage bills and ingredient costs. But according to McDonald’s, it may also be creating opportunities for the fast-food chain, as consumers look for cheaper options when eating out and weaker competitors fold, increasing the company’s market share.

McDonald's revenues, including those from franchised restaurants, have increased by $20bn to $120bn a year since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of this is down to inflation but demand has also increased. To capitalize on demand, McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski announced on Friday that the company plans to open new restaurants.

The company will also cut costs by streamlining investment in digital ordering and loyalty apps and simplifying its global menu. The company's model, which allows local franchisees to customise menus, has led to duplication. McDonald’s may also make corporate job cuts. Kempczinski said the company would "evaluate roles and staffing levels" with the aim of informing those affected by April 3($). In other words, the company will reduce the number of rolls as well as the number of roles.

The content we're consuming today

• FT: EY earmarks $2.5bn for consulting arm M&A splurge after planned split ($).

• Reuters: Ex-CFO pleads guilty to stealing from SPACs to trade meme stocks, cryptocurrencies.

Off-balance sheet items

• Avatar: The Way of Water has now grossed more than $1.7 billion at the global box office and has some way to run. Impressive, but only good enough for seventh place on the list of highest-grossing films of all time (and only when you don’t adjust for inflation).

The bottom line