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Dow Jones Newswires | Crystal Lake-based AptarGroup Inc.’s first-quarter earnings climbed by nearly half on strength in its core beauty-and-home segment, as the product-dispenser maker projected stronger earnings in the current quarter than analysts expected.
It sees earnings of 60 cents to 65 cents a share, above the average estimate of 56 cents a share from a survey of analysts by Thomson Reuters.
| GAINERS | % | LOSERS | % | MOST ACTIVE | Vol (000) |
| Sauer-Danfoss | +11.79 | Smurfit-Stone | -20.48 | Motorola | 27,368 |
| A.M. Castle | +5.51 | Brunswick | -3.49 | UAL Corp | 18,836 |
| UAL Corp. | +5.28 | OfficeMax | -3.29 | Smurfit-Stone | 17,744 |
| GATX Corp | +5.02 | First Industrial | -3.24 | Kraft Foods | 15,202 |
| Hub Group | +4.62 | W.W. Grainger | -3.03 | Discover | 9,308 |
See results from Chicago’s
Top 100 companies.
From Bloomberg | Bank of America said
overdue credit-card loans fell in February to their lowest in more than a
year, signaling declining write-offs ahead after 2009’s record losses. The top six U.S. card lenders typically report write-off and delinquency
data on the 15th of each month. Earlier today, Capital One Financial
Corp., based in McLean, Virginia, and Riverwoods, Illinois-based
Discover Financial Services, also posted declines in overdue loans.
Bank of America reports first-quarter results tomorrow.
Get the full story: businessweek.com.
Associated Press | JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s first-quarter profit easily beat expectations
Wednesday as trading gains helped offset consumer loan losses. The
bank’s CEO said the U.S. economy was showing clear signs of improvement.
JPMorgan Chase, the first of the big banks to report earnings for the
January-March period, said it earned $3.3 billion, up from $2.1 billion a
year earlier. The company again added to its reserves for failed loans
during the quarter, but its investment banking division and other
businesses enabled it to more than overcome the ongoing weakness in
lending.
Tribune staff report | Littelfuse Inc. revised guidance for the first quarter of 2010, saying it expects sales to be approximately $144 million, which represents growth of 71 percent year over year.. Previous guidance called for sales in the range of $130 to $138 million.
| GAINERS | % | LOSERS | % | MOST ACTIVE | Vol (000) |
| UAL Corp | +6.75 | ACCO Brands | -4.41 | UAL Corp | 30,717 |
| Strategic Hotels | +3.34 | Smurfit-Stone | -3.60 | Motorola | 27,882 |
| USG Corp. | +2.86 | Zebra Tech. | -3.04 | Sara Lee | 10,132 |
| Motorola | +2.77 | First Industrial | -2.99 | Smurfit-Stone | 8,434 |
| WMS Industries | +2.51 | Career Education | -2.47 | Kraft | 7,810 |
See results from Chicago’s
Top 100 companies.
Dow Jones Newswires | Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions
Inc.’s fiscal third-quarter earnings jumped 39 percent, beating
analysts’ average view by a penny a share, helped by record sales and
improved margins.
By Becky Yerak
| Shares of Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc., the Chicago-based owner
of the Fairmont and InterContinental hotels in Chicago, as well as other
luxury properties worldwide, continued their recent surge. They were up 9.6 percent
late afternoon Monday, amid more optimism about high-end lodging
properties.
Its stock was at $4.59 as the stock market neared its close. The
company’s 52-week trading range is 70 cents to $4.82.
From Crain’s Chicago Business | Troubled South Side lender ShoreBank is predicting an essentially flat 2012 and expects to make significant profits again only in 2013. The bad news comes on top of a predicted loss of $101 million in 2010 and 2011.
Get the full story: chicagobusiness.com.
Thomas J. Wilson, chairman and CEO of Allstate Insurance. (Kevin G. Hall/McClatchy Tribune)
Dow Jones Newswires | Allstate Corp. Chief Executive Thomas J. Wilson received total compensation valued at $10.4 million in 2009, up about 30% from a year earlier.
The $10.4 million in total compensation includes a base salary of $1.1 million and $1.7 million in cash payments arising from Allstate’s nonequity incentive compensation plan, the company said Thursday in a Securities and Exchange Commission proxy filing. Wilson made nearly $8 million in 2008 and $10.8 million in 2007, the filing said.
Dow Jones Newswires | Verizon Communications Inc. said Thursday it expects to record a
one-time noncash charge of $970 million in the first quarter, to account
for the anticipated impact of the recently enacted U.S. health-care
overhaul.
The telecommunication company, which disclosed the charge in a
Securities and Exchange Commission filing, is the latest company to take
a charge to account for increased costs related to changes that will
come from the health-care law. Specifically, the overhaul prevents
companies from deducting tax-free subsidies it receives from the federal
government for providing retirees with prescription-drug benefits.
| GAINERS | % | LOSERS | % | MOST ACTIVE | Vol (000) |
| Rubicon | +7.52 | Smurfit-Stone | -11.46 | Motorola | 24,853 |
| Tenneco | +3.97 | Ulta Salon | -2.08 | Kraft Foods | 9,259 |
| Gardner | +3.59 | Brunswick | -1.50 | UAL Corp | 9,057 |
| Discover | +2.95 | Strategic Hotels | -1.41 | Walgreen | 7,946 |
| Brookdale | +2.54 | OfficeMax | -1.10 | Caterpillar | 7,828 |
See results from Chicago’s
Top 100 companies.
A shopper trying on a hat and sunglasses at Claire’s in Old Orchard Mall. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
By Julie Wernau | Claire’s Stores Inc., the fashion accessory retailer behind the Claire’s
and Icing brands, reported modest growth in the fourth quarter and said
it plans to double capital expenditures in 2010 as it attempts to
rebrand and expand into new markets.
The Hoffman Estates-based company reported sales of $410.7 million for
the 2009 fourth quarter, an increase of $17.7 million over the previous
year that was primarily due to a foreign currency translation
effect. Same-store sales were up 2.1 percent in the fourth quarter, with
European stores faring better than those in North America. The company
said winter and holiday items were popular buys.
A pharmacist filling an order at a Walgreens in downtown Chicago. (Brian Kersey/Bloomberg News)
Associated Press | Growth in U.S. sales of pharmaceuticals bounced back last year, as rebates and low-cost generic drugs drove an increase in the number of prescriptions filled, according to data tracking firm IMS Health. U.S. pharmaceutical sales climbed 5.1 percent to $300.3 billion in 2009, after two prior years of slower growth.
In response to the economic downturn, drug makers have been offering co-pay coupons and other programs to help patients pay for their prescriptions. Those programs combined with offers on low-cost generic drugs from Walgreens and other retailers to drive sales.
(AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
From Bloomberg | BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion reported fourth-quarter sales and shipments that missed analysts’ estimates. The company spent 46 percent more on research last quarter, as it develops devices that can replicate the success of Apple’s iPhone or Motorola’s Droid.
Get the full story: businessweek.com.
(Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune)
