What did Jim Cantalupo promise at a Wall Street meeting on April 7?

"The world has changed. Our customers have changed. We have to change, too. " Brave words from Jim Cantalupo, chairman and chief executive of McDonald’s for the previous 100 days, who promised investors at a Wall Street meeting on April 7 that the world’s biggest fast-food chain no longer wanted to be bigger than everybody else, just better.

Of course, concerns about deflation and slow growth are closely interlinked. If the American economy were to slide into deflation, with prices actually falling, hopes for a sustained economic recovery would be dashed. Once prices start to fall, consumers and businesses postpone all but the most essential purchases. What is the point of buying something now if it will be cheaper in a few months’ time? It is easy to see how quickly the economy could slide back towards recession. Japan, in or close to recession for much of the past decade, is now experiencing its fourth consecutive year of falling prices.