Filed under: Policy

Visit our Filed page for categories. To browse by specific topic, see our Inside page. For a list of companies covered on this site, visit our Companies page.

 

GOP budget chairman assails Obama spending plan

The House Budget Committee chairman says Republicans don’t want to see the government shut down in a fight with President Barack Obama over spending priorities.

Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan also tells ABC’s “Good Morning America” the GOP doesn’t want to “rubber stamp” spending policies it opposes just to keep the government running. Get the full story »

Obama pledges $1.1 trillion in deficit cuts

President Barack Obama is sending Congress a $3.73 trillion spending blueprint that pledges $1.1 trillion in deficit savings over the next decade through spending cuts and tax increases.

Illinois bonds, budget in muni market spotlight

Illinois’ lingering fiscal problems will be center stage in the U.S. municipal bond market next week as the state sells $3.7 billion of bonds and as its governor unveils a budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year. Get the full story »

Judge approves delay in O’Hare expansion suit

By Jon Hilkevitch | A Cook County judge on Thursday approved a five-day delay in hearing the lawsuit that United and American airlines have filed to stop the city of Chicago from borrowing about $1 billion for the expansion of O’Hare International Airport.

SEC watchdog says it has uncovered waste

U.S. securities regulators have made numerous missteps in procuring and managing contracts including office leases, the agency’s internal watchdog said on Thursday. Get the full story »

Fed to face Congress on debit fee crackdown

The Federal Reserve may give U.S. banks insight into whether it will scale back its proposed crackdown on debit card processing fees, when a top official testifies before a congressional panel next week. Get the full story »

Bill would lock in Com Ed rate hikes

Commonwealth Edison and other state utilities would be able to lock in profit margins above 10 percent under a bill to be introduced Tuesday in the General Assembly.

The legislation also proposes that rate hikes for consumers, which typically undergo an 11-month regulatory review, could be decided in as little as 45 days.

Blackstone Hotel, others helped by poverty tax aid

From The New York Times’ DealBook | Chicago’s posh Blackstone Hotel, which charges visitors up to $699 per night, benefited from federal aid that targets poor communities, Bloomberg Markets reports in its March issue. Renovations for the hotel were financed by Prudential Financial, which received a $15.6 million tax credit from the New Markets Tax Credits program, a $10.1 billion incentive for companies to develop poor neighborhoods and towns.

CEO: Chrysler must shed ’shyster’ bailout loans

Chrysler is working to refinance what its chief executive characterized as “shyster loans” that the Obama administration extended as part of a bailout to keep the automaker from collapse in 2009.

“I want to pay back the shyster loans,” Sergio Marchionne said at an industry conference, using a derogatory term for an unprincipled lawyer or politician. “Pay back the loans, get those out and then take (the company) public.”

Marchionne, who is also CEO of Italy’s Fiat SpA, has said repeatedly that the high interest rates on $5.7 billion that Chrysler owes to the U.S. Treasury have been an obstacle in the automaker’s return to profitability. Get the full story »

Boeing-Airbus fight with ads as deadline nears

Boeing Co. and EADS launched dueling advertising campaigns on Thursday as the companies’ bitter battle to capture U.S. refueling aircraft orders valued at up to $50 billion neared another pivotal point.

Boeing and Airbus parent EADS must submit their final proposal revisions, also known as “best and final offers” for 179 new aerial tankers by Feb. 11 after separate meetings with U.S. Air Force officials on Monday, Feb. 7. Get the full story »

Factory, spending data support strong growth tone

A measure of factory activity in the U.S. Midwest rose to a 22-1/2 year high in January on strong orders and employment prospects, bolstering hopes the economy would stay on a solid growth path this year. Get the full story »

Broker talks up CME Group head for Ill. governor

CME’s politically-minded chairman, Terry Duffy, might make a good Illinois governor, says Chicago futures broker and exchange-industry gadfly John Lothian. Sending Duffy to Springfield would give state businesses better representation and continue a long tradition of public service by Chicago’s exchange leadership, according to Lothian. Get the full story »

Daley unveils pension proposal for firefighters, cops

Mayor Richard Daley’s administration unveiled a plan Friday for police and fire pension reform that would increase employee contributions as part of a package it hopes would save Chicago property taxpayers $240 million per year compared to a bill Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law earlier this month.

South Africans accept Wal-Mart bid

A South African chain’s shareholders have overwhelmingly accepted Wal-Mart’s offer to buy 51 percent of their company, the chief executive said Monday, paving the way for the giant U.S.-based retailer to enter Africa.

ComEd to renew push for automatic rate hikes

Commonwealth Edison Co. is pushing for legislation that would increase gas and electric bills according to a formula, rather than through the more complicated regulatory processĀ  used today.

The company said a more streamlined regulatory process would allow it to quickly and predictably recoup investments aimed at modernizing the electrical grid rather than having to wait the 11 months needed to decide a rate case. A similar proposal ComEd brought forward last year that did not include the state’s other utilities, flamed out with lawmakers. Get the full story »