McDonald's announced its intent to return an additional $10 billion to shareholders by the end of 2016, substantially funded by debt. We are lowering the corporate credit rating to 'BBB+' from 'A-' since the company's various credit metrics will now be measurably worse than our previous expectations. The outlook is stable, reflecting our view that there will be continued progress in the U.S. and that credit metrics will not rise above 4x over the next two years as the company balances further share repurchases and a substantial dividend with the timing of success in the business turnaround. On Nov. 10, 2015, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services lowered all of its ratings, including the corporate credit rating, on Oak Brook, Ill.-based
