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Verizon Wireless is expected to announce Tuesday that it will start selling a version of Apple Inc.’s iPhone, ending AT&T Inc.’s exclusive relationship with Apple.
A version of the iPhone for Verizon’s network has been long expected, and Verizon Wireless has invited the press to an event at 10 a.m. Get the full story »
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced that it will set up its first office outside the United States in China in a bid to reduce the amount of dangerous products reaching the American market. Get the full story »
AT&T Inc. will start selling the previous-generation iPhone — the iPhone 3GS — for $49 starting Friday to customers who buy the smart phone with a two-year service contract and data plan. AT&T said it will include iPhone 3GS devices sold through AT&T and Apple. Get the full story »
Toyota Motor Corp., faltering from recalls, has fallen into a statistical tie with Ford Motor Co. for tops in U.S. consumer brand perception, influential magazine Consumer Reports said Wednesday.
Toyota retained the top spot by a slim margin over Ford in the Consumer Reports 2011 survey that was conducted last month. Honda Motor Co. placed third and Chevrolet fourth. Get the full story »
The Better Business Bureau serving Chicago and Northern Illinois has announced its top scams for 2010, based on frequent calls and complaints.
The most common scams included fraudulent job opportunities, where consumers were asked to pay upfront for materials or training — then heard nothing more. Get the full story »
Chase, Chicago’s biggest bank, is making changes to its basic checking account that could make it tougher to avoid a monthly service fee.
Beginning Feb. 8 , customers will need at least one direct deposit of $500 a month for Chase to waive its $6 monthly service fee. The direct deposit may include a payroll, pension or government benefit payment, such as Social Security. Get the full story »
An employee at a store in New York, Dec. 6, 2010. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
New U.S. claims for jobless benefits dipped last week and consumer spending increased in November for a fifth straight month, reinforcing views of a solid economic growth pace in the fourth quarter.
Initial claims fell 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 420,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday, matching economists’ expectations.
A separate report from the Commerce Department showed spending rose 0.4 percent after increasing by an upwardly revised 0.7 percent in October. Get the full story »
A Snuggie pub crawl in Chicago. (Chicago Now)
The line has expanded to include dog Snuggies. (Snuggie)
New York Times News Service | Consumers purchased about 4 million Snuggies during the 2008 holiday season and, typically, a success story for a kitschy infomercial product would end there. But not so for the blanket with arms, which, from a marketing perspective, turns out to have legs as well.
By the end of 2010, maker Allstar Products Group will have sold 25 million blankets, the equivalent of one for about every 12 residents of the United States, and Scott Boilen, president of Allstar Products, which is based in Hawthorne, N.Y., says there is no indication that sales are waning. Get the full story »
The Commerce Department is calling for the creation of a “privacy bill of rights” for Internet users to set ground rules for companies that collect consumer data online and use that information for marketing and other purposes.
The proposal, outlined in a Commerce Department report Thursday, is intended to address growing unease about the vast amounts of personal information that companies are scooping up on the Net — from Web browsing habits to smart phone locations to Facebook preferences. That data is often mined to target advertising. Get the full story »
It’s the end of the traditional crib that has cradled millions of babies for generations.
The government outlawed drop-side cribs on Wednesday after the deaths of more than 30 infants and toddlers in the past decade and millions of recalls.
It was a unanimous vote by the Consumer Product Safety Commission to ban the manufacture, sale and resale of the cribs, which have a side rail that moves up and down, allowing parents to more easily lift their child from the crib.
U.S. consumer confidence improved in the latest week, according to an ABC News index, as economic pessimism fell to its lowest point in six years.
The overall consumer-comfort index reading was -43 on its scale of -100 to +100, improved from the -45 it had been at for the prior two weeks. The average for the year is -46, while the worst-ever reading was last year’s -48. Get the full story »
For the first time in several years, people shopping for personal computers are doing something new: paying more.
In November, the average retail price of a PC sold in the U.S. was $615, up 6 percent from last year’s $580, which marked a record low, according to research firm NPD Group. Average PC prices have now increased in six of the past eight months compared with 2009 levels, according to NPD data. Get the full story »
OPEC will not raise oil supplies at a meeting on Saturday, Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said, leaving traders to ask what price the group requires to open the taps and prevent fuel inflation hurting global economic recovery. Get the full story »
Component suppliers for Apple Inc.’s iPad are gearing up for a new round of production in the first quarter, sources said on Friday, with one saying the product will be a revamp of the popular tablet computer including front- and back-mounted cameras.
Touchscreen chip designer Wintek Corp., battery maker Simplo Technology Co. Ltd. and AVY Precision, an unlisted maker of covers for electronic products, are among suppliers for the next batch of iPads, four people familiar with the situation said. Get the full story »
From Bloomberg | Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was the best-selling video-game console in the U.S. for the sixth consecutive month, the company said Thursday. Sales were helped by Microsoft’s Kinect motion-capture controller. The company said separately that Wii sales gained 0.8 percent to 1.27 million units.
