At the same time, it has had to contend with angry shareholders, as the rising cost of beef and other ingredients has clobbered its profits.

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She said the cost of West Country beef had also risen because the horsemeat scandal had increased consumer demand for beef.

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Here it should also be said that thanks to the Internet, ATMs, and self-checkout stands at grocery stores, most of us never deal with a live human being when purchasing airline tickets, going to the bank, or when buying ground beef, the cost of which has soared under the Bernanke dollar.

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As the cost of his imported products -- Idaho potatoes, beef and onions -- has recently risen with the weaker yen, he has absorbed the increases in order to keep his prices low.

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PPP, because local prices may be distorted by trade barriers on beef, sales taxes or big differences in the cost of non-traded inputs such as rents.

ECONOMIST: Big MacCurrencies

Local prices may be distorted by trade barriers on beef, sales taxes, or big differences in the cost of property rents.

ECONOMIST: Economics focus: The Big Mac index