In the final days of the month, its China business was hit with a food-safety scare involving a key supplier; “They’re under siege on three continents,” said Howard Penney, restaurant analyst at Hedgeye Risk Management, an investment research firm. To be sure, the company’s famous name and the ubiquity of its restaurants worldwide help to fuel the media storm, said Penney: “McDonald’s is a pawn in many instances around the world.