the disappointing sales trend cost ceo don thunderstorm son his -- don thompson his easterbrook took over as chief executive. mcdonald's executives acknowledge, consumers' needs and preferences have changed and say there's an urgent need to evolve. simpler and more regional menus are part of the plan changes. just last week the company said it would begin to phase out chickens raised with human antibiotics. >> this regional approach the quality upgrades also the technology stuff, that should help in the second half of the year. that's when we and i think the company, would be looking for them to get stability. at that point also i think you're going to get some help from refranchising, maybe some debt leverage to help shareholders get more positive. >> reporter: he said mcdonald's will continue to face pressure in the space. but the changes to come have made him more optimistic about the company's outlook. despite the silver lining he still sees a long road to recovery for the golden arches. >>> general motors plans to repurchase $5 billion in shares by the end of next year. now, the

bobby flay, don thompson is someone i know well. he is the ceo of mcdonald's.you to construct a dish for him -- bobby flay: no problem. betty liu: using the sweet-and-sour sauce at mcdonald's. bobby flay: ok. betty liu: tom colicchio, warren buffett is someone that i have talked to quite often. he loves cherry coke. so, i want you to construct a dish using cherry coke. tom colicchio: sure, i'm the coke guy, right? yeah. great. >> you signed that deal, buddy. betty liu: rachael, i will give you a bit of a curveball. elon musk is a billionaire, founder of tesla, the electric carmaker. rachael ray: those are really cool. they are very cute. betty liu: he is south african. so, a south african food is biltong, which is a kind of beef jerky. i want you to construct a dish using beef jerky. mario, you've had a second to think about it. what would you make lloyd blankfein? mario batali: first of all, i would chop one of the hot dogs -- do i get more than one hot dog? i would chop one of them up and dredge it with flour and salt and pepper and some cayenne and make it n

. >> ktvu operations manager, don thompson, has produced the parade for as long as thomas has built the floats. nearly 30 years. our crews prepare for it months in advance and thompson's favorite moment, 6:00 saturday night. >> when it goes on the air, that's my favorite moment. i can kind of sit back and relax and wait for something to go wrong. >> relaxation is a long way out, though. in these final hours, engineers and artists are busy creating a feeling, a magical one, as we welcome the lunar new year. >> that feeling of look at this amazing, beautiful thing that we worked so hard and then we get to see people enjoy it on the parade route and the sense of satisfaction watching it all come together. >> in san francisco, katie utehs, ktvu fox 2 news. >> i have never been to the parade, but i get a front row seat watching it right here. you can, too. you can watch the parade right here on ktvu fox 2. live coverage starts at 6:00 tomorrow night and we will reair the parade at 9:00 p.m. on tv 36. >>> feels like spring. the best time to get outside and enjoy the warmest weather this weeke

the things that don thompson was focusing on, such as custom burger pricing, regional rising menus andsing simplifying menus to get speed and service back up to speed -- betty: we only have a month and a half worth of data. shake shack ipo a month ago. bring the chart up. shake shack coming credible. the stock has doubled. -- shake shack incredible. mcdonald's is generally flat. that is an extreme example of people's changing tastes. >> absolutely. showit shows growing interest from investors. mcdonald's competitors have a clear -- you can order a gourmet burger. you can go to chipotle for food that is sustainable. mcdonald's is ubiquitous. it's a bit harder to turn the ship around when things are not going to well. betty: burgers are in fashion. everyone wants a good burger. great to see you. thank you so much. we will be back in two minutes on "in the loop." ♪ betty: today's bloomberg big number is $18.5 million. he can't catch a break after suffering several -- according to morningstar -- we are joined by the man who called for gm's buyback. harry wilson weighing in on the future of

while only waking up now after they took don thompson out?started sooner which helps. burger king has brought a lot of people back into stores by using heavy discounts and promotions. it can get a coupon for three dollars for a salmon -- a sandwich, a drink, and fries at burger king. that puts a lot of pressure. stephanie: how does burger king sell a sandwich, energetic for three dollars? >> you either have to have a lot of people coming in to make it profitable, or that is why it is limited. -- limited time. a special promotion to get people coming in the door and that hopefully get people to come back and buy things on the normal menu. >> i have the impression burger king and wendy's will have fresher ingredients, more substantial beef patties. maybe because i grew up in columbus, ohio, where wendy's his face. am i wrong? >> i think it is perception. i do not know the food is any fresher but they have been better about advertising that makes you feel like it is fresher. matt: you do not get the impression wendy's is higher-quality food than

. >> losing clarence otis and don thompson at a time where the tailwinds were just starting to come inh companies. that's an unfortunate dynamic. >> yes it is. glad you pointed that out because those are the ones that -- they're going to finally have the tailwinds, headwind go to tailwind. would have been niced to see what would happen. >> cramer's "mad dash" as we count down to the opening bell. premarket on this friday. first day of spring. i'm sure you've seen images of the solar eclipse which was visible from the other sifd the planet. back in a moment. opportunities aren't always obvious. sometimes they just drop in. cme group can help you navigate risks and capture opportunities. we enable you to reach global markets and drive forward with broader possibilities. cme group: how the world advances. ♪ ♪ >>> just about 7:30 until the opening bell on friday. "mad dash" with cramer here. amazon has gotten an experimental airworthiness certificate. >> we shouldn't be buying amazon off the drones but i want to point out, this and the next story examples of what you'd be hard pressed to t