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Obama appoints former Midwest Banc CEO to post

Roberto Herencia, the former chief executive of Midwest Banc Holdings Inc., has been nominated to serve on the board of directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corp., the Obama administration announced Wednesday.

The OPIC was established as an agency of the U.S. government in 1971. It helps U.S. businesses invest overseas. On its Web site, OPIC says it charges market-based fees for its products and services and therefore operates at no net cost to taxpayers. Get the full story »

Report: GM in talks to sell stake to China’s SAIC

General Motors Co. is in the final stage of talks to sell equity to long-time Chinese partner SAIC Motor Corp. in conjunction with its landmark initial public offering, two people familiar with the matter said.

The two government-funded automakers are determining how much of a stake SAIC would buy in the top U.S. automaker after discussions involving technology sharing and SAIC’s ambitions to move beyond China, the sources said. Get the full story »

CME picks exec to run global currency trading unit

CME Group Inc. has hired foreign exchange market veteran Roger Rutherford to head its global currency trading unit from London, according to a person familiar with the situation. Get the full story »

Oracle’s Ellison accuses SAP of $4 billion theft

Larry Ellison, Oracle Corp’s outspoken chief, charged that German arch-rival SAP AG stole billions of dollars of his company’s copyrighted software.

Ellison made the allegation as the the star witness in the U.S. software maker’s software-theft lawsuit, which is captivating Silicon Valley. Get the full story »

Unemployment near 8% across G20

Unemployment in the Group of 20 leading world economies is close to 8 percent of the total workforce and looks set to keep growing strongly, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) said on Monday. Get the full story »

McDonald’s names new European head

Two days after the head of its European business unexpectedly resigned, McDonald’s Corp. found his replacement.

Steve Easterbrook, the burger chain’s global chief brand officer, will become president of McDonald’s Europe on Dec. 1. He succeeds Denis Hennequin, who resigned Wednesday to become chief executive officer of Accor Hotels Group. Get the full story »

Honey executive sentenced to 30 months in prison

A honey import executive who pleaded guilty to conspiring to avoid more than $5 million in U.S. anti-dumping duties has been sentenced to 30 months in prison.

Hung Ta Fan, who also used the name Michael Fan, was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Chicago and was ordered to pay about $5.38 million in restitution. He pleaded guilty to the charges in August. Get the full story »

Canada lets slip one reason for blocking BHP bid

Canada’s farm minister offered one reason that Canada blocked the proposed takeover of Potash Corp. on Thursday, but markets will have to wait a month for all the details to emerge.

Farm Minister Gerry Ritz, in comments his office later said were just speculation, argued that letting BHP Billiton buy the fertilizer giant would have offered Australia’s farm sector too much of an advantage. Get the full story »

GM touts China growth in IPO sales pitch

General Motors Co.’s strength in China and its global growth potential are the focus of the automaker’s sales pitch as it shops for investors ahead of its initial public offering this month. Get the full story »

U.S. chicken industry seeks answers on Russia ban

(David Pierini/Chicago Tribune)

The U.S. chicken industry, which in September resumed shipping meat to Russia, has contacted the U.S. embassy in Moscow in an attempt to learn if Russia intends to stop such imports beginning Jan. 1.

The head of Russia’s consumer protection watchdog on Wednesday told Reuters in Moscow the country will ban sales and processing of deep-frozen poultry meat from Jan. 1, both domestic and imported, because freezing hurts the quality of the meat. Get the full story »

Canada insists no decision yet on BHP’s Potash bid

Canada insisted on Tuesday it has made no decision yet on BHP’s $39 billion offer for Potash Corp., even as two newspapers said bureaucrats were advising the government to allow the bid and rumors swirled in the markets that Ottawa would block it. Get the full story »

U.S., EU regulators talk reform, tour exchange

Top regulators from the United States and the European Union discussed reforms for futures and over-the-counter derivatives as they toured the world’s largest exchange on Tuesday and lunched with a group of Chicago futures traders and exchange executives. Get the full story »

U.S. says air safety measures won’t hurt trade

America’s transport watchdog vowed on Tuesday not to slow global trade by piling security measures onto the aviation industry in response to terror threats as air lobby group IATA warned against rash action. Get the full story »

MasterCard 2Q profit jumps on overseas card use

MasterCard Inc. on Tuesday said increased use of credit and debit cards overseas helped lift its third-quarter profit by 15 percent.

Girl Scouts uniforms to keep Made in USA label

The Girl Scouts of the USA announced Monday its uniforms will continue to be made in America following a public uproar over reports it was considering bids from overseas manufacturers.

The owners of a family run Passaic, N.J., factory that has been the main supplier of Girl Scout uniforms and sashes for years were told recently that the organization would be seeking bids for the job — including from a company in China. Get the full story »