Top Business & Political News 03/08/10

McDonald's same-store sales rose 4.8% in February. Mcdonald reported a 4.8 percent rise in February sales at established restaurants as strong overseas results offset softness in the United States, sending its shares up nearly 2 percent Monday. Sales at restaurants open at least 13 months rose 0.6 percent in the United States, 5.4 percent in Europe, and 10.5 percent in the Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA) region. McDonald's January same-store sales fell 0.7 percent in the United States, while those in Europe and in the Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA) region both rose 4.3 percent.

Obama appeals for public support on health care. President Barack Obama accused insurance companies of placing profits over people and said Republicans ignored long-festering problems when they held power as he sought to build support Monday for swift passage of legislation stalled in Congress. "How much higher do premiums have to rise before we do something about it?" said Obama, making the first in an expected string of out-of-town trips to pitch his plan to remake the health care system. The president said dismissively that Republican critics in Congress say they want to do something about rising health care costs, but said they did not when they held power. "You had 10 years. What happened. What were you doing?" he said to applause from an audience at Arcadia University, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.