BRASIL: Rio's "Big Mac" Pricier Than London And NYC; Overpriced Real Is Reason.

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Buying a "Big Mac" hamburger now costs 8 reais in Rio or $4.62, compared with $3.99 in New York and $3.74(2.29 pounds)in London.
Brasil's Real has exploded 34 percent vs the USD so far this year. The Real is the best-performer of the world’s 16 most-traded currencies in 2009.

Meanwhile in Reykjavik, Iceland, all three McDonald's franchise restaurants will close soon because the cost of McDonald's ingredients, most from Germany, had doubled in the last 18 months as a result of severe depreciation of the Icelandic krona and high import taxes.