WORLD

McDonald's Japan inflated sales

McDonald's Holding Co. Japan Ltd., a unit of the world's biggest restaurant company, said about 1,000 people were hired to patronize one of its outlets, inflating sales when a new hamburger was introduced this week.

The restaurant in the western Japan city of Osaka had a daily sales record of about Yen10 million ($110,000) on Tuesday when it introduced the Quarter Pounder hamburger to its menu. About 1,000 of 15,000 customers on the day were hired by a market research company on behalf of McDonald's.

“;We didn't know that some of the customers that queued to buy the new burger on that day had been paid,”; McDonald's Japan spokesman Kenji Kaniya said yesterday.

NATION

Airports cite few delays

U.S. air travel returned to its near-regular schedule on Christmas morning, less than a day after ice and snow spurred a cascade of flight cancellations and delays throughout the country.

Flights at San Francisco International Airport and Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport were delayed about half an hour yesterday morning due to high winds, according to the Federal Aviation Web site.

All other airports reported no more than a 15-minute delay for arrivals and departures, according to the FAA site.

In San Francisco, the half-hour delays affected only short-haul flights of 1,000 miles or fewer, said Bob Rotiski, airport duty manager for San Francisco International.

At Chicago O'Hare International Airport, arrivals and departures were delayed 15 minutes yesterday morning, a day after more than 100 flights were canceled because of snow, according to the New York Times.

CBS sued over 'Two and a Half Men'

LOS ANGELES » Warner Bros. Television sued CBS yesterday in Los Angeles, claiming it is owed nearly $70 million for producing and licensing the hit sitcom, “;Two and a Half Men.”;

The show, which stars Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer, is in its sixth season.

Warner Bros. claims that its agreement with CBS granted it the ability to recoup $49 million in losses on the show's first four seasons and other financial incentives.

Warner Bros. claims CBS will soon owe it $20 million now that “;Two and a Half Men”; has remained a hit in its fifth and sixth seasons. 

GMAC to become a bank

GMAC LLC won Federal Reserve approval to become a bank holding company, a switch that may enable the money-losing auto and home lender to tap U.S. financial bailout programs and help keep General Motors Corp. in business.

The Fed used emergency powers Wednesday to grant Detroit-based GMAC's request, citing turmoil in financial markets and the potential impact on GM, the biggest U.S. automaker, which has warned it's running out of cash. GM and Cerberus Capital Management LP, GMAC's majority owner, will give up control of the lender to comply with federal rules on who can own banks.

Saving GMAC is a step toward salvaging GM, which received a temporary bailout earlier this month. The $9.4 billion loan will sustain GM at least until January, when President-elect Barack Obama must find a more permanent way to save millions of auto industry jobs and avoid deepening the year-old recession. Dealers and analysts say a GM rescue is more likely to work if GMAC is still around to make car loans, which the Fed's action ensures.

The Fed order said the plan would benefit the public by strengthening GMAC's ability to fund the purchases of vehicles manufactured by GM.