Oct. 11, 2010 at 11:08 a.m.
Filed under:
Beverages,
Investing,
Stock activity
By Emily Bryson York
Fortune Brands’ shares surged 13 percent on Friday on the news that William Ackman’s firm Pershing Square Capital Management had purchased an 11 percent stake in the company. But the stock’s ebullience has given some analysts pause.
Peter Lisnic of Robert W. Baird downgraded Fortune’s stock on Monday morning from “outperform” to “neutral,” saying that the stock is now priced higher than its peers.
“Our rating adjustment reflects current valuation metrics that are now at a material premium relative to blended peer group multiples,” he wrote. “While [Fortune] remains well positioned in its end markets, and execution during the recession and housing downturn has been superb, current valuation metrics would appear to discount a stronger macroeconomic recovery than we believe is likely, particularly in U.S. housing construction markets.” Get the full story »
Oct. 11, 2010 at 6:11 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Restaurants
By Dow Jones Newswires-Wall Street Journal
McDonald's McRib sandwich. (McDonald's)
The elusiveness of McDonald’s McRib sandwich’s has created a fan base of people who go to considerable lengths to munch on one of the boneless pork patties. Ryan Dixon of Burbank, Calif., once drove 10 hours to Medford, Ore., after hearing a McDonald’s there was selling the sandwich.
McRibs, launched in 1981 are almost never available at all McDonald’s restaurants at the same time. Instead, the Oak Brook,, company offers them in different cities at different times, rarely for longer than a few weeks. Get the full story »
Oct. 7, 2010 at 5:30 p.m.
Filed under:
Beverages,
Earnings,
Food,
International
By Associated Press
PepsiCo Inc.’s third-quarter net income rose 12 percent on strong sales gains in drinks and Frito-Lay snacks abroad, but shares fell after the company lowered the top end of its guidance because of investments to expand its presence overseas. Shares fell $2.01, or 3 percent, to $65.10 in heavy volume Thursday.
Oct. 7, 2010 at 11:12 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Franchises,
Restaurants
By Emily Bryson York
(Image courtesy penn-station.com.)
Penn Station East Coast Subs, a cheesesteak-and-fries chain based in Milford, Ohio, has opened its first Chicago area location in Lombard.
The chain expects to have 20 Chicago area locations by 2015.
The first franchise partner is Gordon Hahn, previously of Chicago Bread LLC, a franchise group that operates 31 Chicago-area Panera restaurants. Hahn and his son Kevin are partners at the Lombard locations, and expect to open four more around Chicago. Get the full story »
Oct. 5, 2010 at 5:23 p.m.
Filed under:
Beverages,
Food,
Recalls
By Associated Press
Federal inspectors who were at a Michigan infant-formula plant last winter discovered no significant problems, months before the company found beetles near the production line. North Chicago, Ill.-based Abbott Laboratories recently recalled several brands of Similac formula, although the company said the possibility of bug parts in the products was remote.
By Dow Jones Newswires
It looks like PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division is giving its SunChips bags another make over — only to make sure they are less noisy.
Frito-Lay hopes to quiet complaints about the chips bags by switching out the biodegradable bags for older packaging on most flavors, AP reports.
The change comes after consumers had grumbled about the loud crackling sound the biodegradable bags made.
The company is switching back to original packaging, which is made of a type of plastic, for five of the six varieties of the chips, AP says.
Oct. 5, 2010 at 11:22 a.m.
Filed under:
Beverages,
Food,
Retail
By Sandra M. Jones
Binny’s Beverage Depot is moving into a vacant Circuit City store in Bolingbrook as the family-owned chain of liquor stores continues to expand.
The 22,000-square-foot store at the Promenade Bolingbrook is slated to open by the middle of the month, according to owner Michael Binstein. The opening will bring the retailer’s number of stores to 25, all in the Chicago area. Get the full story »
Oct. 5, 2010 at 10:54 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Investing,
Updated
By Reuters
Private equity firm Apollo Global Management approached food company Sara Lee about six weeks with regards to a deal, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday.
It was unclear if anything will come of that approach.
A deal would likely to have been struck in conjunction with investor C. Dean Metropoulos, a Connecticut entrepreneur known for reinvigorating food brands, who is an operating partner of Apollo, the source said. Get the full story »
Oct. 5, 2010 at 8:20 a.m.
Filed under:
Food
By Associated Press
Kraft Foods Inc. has opened a gum and candy research center in Switzerland, where it will develop products for top brands such as Trident.
The company said Tuesday it has spent more than $14 million on the European Kraft Foods Gum and Candy Research & Development Center in Eysins. Get the full story »
Oct. 5, 2010 at 6:01 a.m.
Filed under:
Advertising/Marketing,
Food,
Restaurants
By Emily Bryson York
A recommended San Francisco ban on kids' meal toys, which would affect primarily McDonald's. (AP)
San Francisco’s planning commission has recommended a full vote on a partial ban on toy sales with children’s meals at fast food restaurants. The proposed legislation would make it illegal for toys to be given alongside kids’ meals that didn’t meet certain criteria.
The city’s board will take a full vote that could result in legislation in a few weeks. As the biggest player in this space, Oak Brook-based McDonald’s is at the center of this storm. Get the full story »
Sep. 30, 2010 at 6:09 p.m.
Filed under:
Franchises,
Health care,
Insurance,
Restaurants
By Bruce Japsen
A dispute between McDonald’s Corp. and the federal government over a new health care reform requirement is giving a peek into the potential complexities that the massive new law will have on companies. Get the full story »
Sep. 30, 2010 at 10:38 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Health care,
Restaurants,
Updated
By Dow Jones Newswires-Wall Street Journal
Workers at a McDonald's restaurant in Oak Brook. (Tribune photo by Terry Harris)
McDonald’s Corp. has warned federal regulators that it could drop its health insurance plan for nearly 30,000 hourly restaurant workers unless regulators waive a new requirement of the U.S. health overhaul. The move is one of the clearest indications that new rules may disrupt workers’ health plans as the law ripples through the real world. Get the full story »
Sep. 29, 2010 at 11:43 a.m.
Filed under:
Earnings,
Food,
Retail
By Reuters
Family Dollar Stores Inc. forecast profit for the current fiscal year that would beat most analyst estimates and said it will speed up the pace of new store openings, sending its shares up 2.5 percent. The retailer, which prices most of its goods under $10, has attracted consumers struggling in a weak economy. It expects to reap the sales benefit of longer store hours, introduced earlier this year, and an overhaul to give more room to fast-moving items like food. Get the full story »
Sep. 29, 2010 at 9:27 a.m.
Filed under:
Bankruptcy,
Food,
Restaurants,
Updated
By Wailin Wong
Chicago-area restaurant chain Boston Blackie’s is closing some of its locations almost a year after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
An employee who answered the phone at the chain’s River East location said it was closing effective immediately. He declined to comment further. The Boston Blackie’s next to the Doubletree Hotel in Skokie also closed on Sunday, according to a hotel employee. Phone numbers listed on the company’s Web site for locations in Lincoln Park, Glencoe and Naperville were disconnected or out of service on Tuesday afternoon. Get the full story »
Sep. 28, 2010 at 12:15 p.m.
Filed under:
Consumer news,
Food,
Packaged foods
By Emily Bryson York
Last year, a series of heavy rains dented the pumpkin harvest, and just about any pumpkin-pie plans for after Thanksgiving. Nestle, which sells the vast majority of the canned pumpkin category, said that won’t be a problem this year. Get the full story »
