McDonald's Sales Drop For First Time Since 2003

For the first time in nearly a decade, McDonald's saw a key sales figures decline. Global revenue at restaurants open at least 13 months dropped 1.8 percent in the last month, the first time that sales declined since March 2003.

According to Yahoo Finance, the figure is a key indicator of overall health of the business - it strips out brand new and recently closed locations, and paints a picture of the revenue of the bulk of their restaurants worldwide. The drop was particularly pronoucned in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, where revenue dropped 2.4 percent in the last month. The company admitted the sales were due to increased competition, decreased demand and the global economic downturn.

The company has increasingly shifted it's business model towards the Dollar Menu, but with the rising cost of food, the Dollar Menu has shrunk. This year, Mickey D's was forced to take small fries off the Dollar Menu.

With decreasing revenue and upside down American flags, this has not been a great month for McDonald's.