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Mcdonald's shares improve with dumping of Chipotle; Wendy's hopes to do the same with Baja Fresh

The Chicago Tribune reports today that McDonald's stock has risen more than 25 percent since mid-July. Store sales are up due to new menu items such as premium coffee and the chicken snack wrap. Also attributing to the increase was the completion of McDonald's sale of its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. Chipotle is still thriving though. Since the chain went public in January, its stock gained $22 to close at $44. It closed at $57.23 Thursday

Wendy's also made news yesterday with the announcement that it would be selling Baja Fresh Mexican Grill chain to a group led by California investor David Kim, a Cinnabon franchisee and owner of the Sweet Factory candy stores. The most shocking part of this story? Wendy's paid $275 million for Baja Fresh in 2002; Kim purchased the chain for $31 million. Unlike Chipotle, Baja has been a failure as can be seen by the bargain basement sale price.

While the impact of this sale will not be immediate in terms of sales numbers, Wendy's is hoping to continue its forward momentum. The chain recently completed its sale of Canada's Tim Hortons. Other moves to increase sales over the next couple of years include adding breakfast, the introduction of a new double melt hamburger and spending $85 million on company-owned store renovations and incentives for franchisees to do the same.

Paralegals Look to Franchise their Services

Some lawyers say they'd be lost without their paralegals. And it seems paralegals know this. Dorothy Secol and Peggy Stalford, two enterprising veteran paralegals from New Jersey, recently announced plans to franchise their freelance paralegal business.

The two women opened their freelance business, Paralegal Services USA, in 1986. The duo has since grown their business to a staff of five and annual revenues of $400,000. In today's Asbury Park Press, Secol and Stalford say that over the years they were often approached by other paralegals looking for advice on starting their own businesses.

Unlike other legal oriented franchises such as We The People and The Divorce Center whose customers are those seeking legal advice, Paralegal Services USA's customers are lawyers. Paralegals must work under the supervision of lawyers. However, Secol and Stalford say that this franchise isn't only for paralegals looking to own their own business. Those who aren't paralegals can still buy a franchise, but services offered must be handled by qualified paralegals.