NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Sept. 27, 2006--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today its ratings and outlook on Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald's Corp. (A/Stable/A-1) are unaffected by the company's announcement that it will boost its common dividend by about 50% to approximately $1.2 billion. Given that McDonald's has been generating strong cash flow, we expect that management would utilize its flexibility to curtail share repurchase activity if performance takes a downturn.