A prominent Jewish cemetery on the Northwest Side of Chicago has changed hands after the previous owner could no longer operate and maintain the 50-acre property, according to the new owner. Get the full story »
American to park 10% of MD-80s as it cuts U.S. capacity
American Airlines plans to park about 10 percent of its MD-80 fleet this year and trim domestic capacity to stem losses from sky-high fuel prices. Get the full story »
New contract covers 3,000 Chicago hotel workers
Chicago Sun-Times | Employees of Starwood Hotels in Chicago have ratified a contract that raises wages for the next two years. The deal covers 1,200 workers at the Sheraton, Westin Michigan Avenue, Westin River North, W Lakeshore, W City Center and Tremont hotels and another 2,000 at hotels whose contracts pattern the Sheraton’s. The employees, represented by Unite Here Local 1, have been working without a contract since August 2009.
‘Overwhelming’ number turn out for 800 McJobs
Thousands of Chicagoans flooded McDonald’s stores Tuesday, hoping to land one of 800 local McJobs.
The hiring day culminated a weeks-long advertising and public-relations campaign for the burger giant’s plans to hire 50,000 store-level employees nationwide. Get the full story »
Jembro variety stores make way to Chicago from Northeast
Jembro Inc., a family-owned chain of variety stores from the Northeast, is entering the Chicago market.
The Brooklyn, N.Y.-based retailer unveiled an 8,400 square-foot store at Bricktown Square in Chicago in late March. A second store– almost twice the size at 15,200 square feet — is slated to open this summer at the Hillcrest Shopping Center in Crest Hill. Get the full story »
Philadelphia telecom hoarding toll-free phone numbers
A small Philadelphia telecommunications company with close ties to an adult-entertainment business has amassed control of more than 1 million toll-free numbers, according to industry sources and a published report.
The toll-free numbers, including 1-800-CHICAGO or 1-800-YOUR-PHILLIES, are used mostly to redirect callers to phone-sex services, the industry observers say. Get the full story »
Fiat sees ‘happiness’ in Chrysler ownership
Fiat SpA is pushing ahead with plans to get 51 percent of U.S. No.3 carmaker Chrysler, a goal that boss Sergio Marchionne defined on Wednesday as “happiness” for the Italian car maker. Get the full story »
Online poker players to be reunited with cash
Online poker players in the United States will be able to withdraw money from accounts associated with two Internet poker companies recently indicted for bank fraud and money laundering, federal authorities said Wednesday. Get the full story »
Allstate justifies Wilson’s pay as it prepares for proxy vote
From Bloomberg News | Northbrook-based insurer Allstate told a proxy advisory firm that Chief Executive Officer Thomas Wilson’s pay last year was justified as it braced for a vote on compensation.
American Airlines shrinks loss, plans capacity cut
American Airlines parent AMR Corp. posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss, but soaring fuel costs are prompting the carrier to curb capacity later this year.
Chicago-area home sales up from February
"For sale" signs line a Chicago street. (Nancy Stone, Chicago Tribune)
The median price of a condominium sold in Chicago last month beat its year-ago comparison for the first time in two and a half years, new data shows.
The median price of a condo within the city rose to $275,000, up 2.8 percent from $267,500 a year ago, according to a monthly sales report released Wednesday by the Illinois Association of Realtors. The last time Chicago condo prices recorded a year-over-year gain was in October 2008, when the median sales price of $315,000 was a 3.3 percent gain from October 2007. Get the full story »
USG reports 1Q loss on sluggish demand
USG Corp. reported a first-quarter loss that was slightly lower than a year ago, as demand for its building products remains sluggish.
The Chicago-based manufacturer of wallboard and other products reported a net loss of $105 million, or $1.01 a share, in the period ending March 31. In the year-ago quarter, USG reported a net loss of $110 million, or $1.10 a share. Get the full story »
Apple to ship new iPhone 5 in September
Apple Inc.’s next-generation iPhone will have a faster processor and will begin shipping in September, three people with direct knowledge of the company’s supply chain said.
The production of the new iPhone will start in July/August and the smartphone will look largely similar to the iPhone 4, one of the people said on Wednesday. Get the full story »
$3.5B deal signals consolidating power sector
AES Corp. will buy the regional power company DPL Inc. for about $3.5 billion in cash, the companies said Wednesday, accelerating a consolidation in the industry that is already well under way.
With costs rising and environmental regulations on the horizon, utilities are bulking up so that they can better shoulder the load. The recession also hit the sector hard because major customers like industrial plants and factories have shut down. Get the full story »
Chicago Fed: U.S. financial conditions loosened
Financial conditions in the U.S. loosened slightly over the past week and remain looser than would be expected at the current stage of the economic cycle, according to the new index from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Get the full story »
