From Bloomberg News | Credit-default swaps on Sara Lee Corp. climbed to a record following a report that buyout firm Apollo Global Management LLC teamed up with investor C. Dean Metropoulos to consider a bid for the company.
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Jewel asks employees to take time off without pay
A Jewel-Osco at 370 N. Desplaines in Chicago. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Jewel-Osco is offering all corporate employees unpaid time off between now and Feb. 26, representatives for the store’s parent, SuperValu, said. The offer extends to all SuperValu chains, including Save-a-Lot, Acme, Cub and Albertson’s.
The money-saving program is voluntary, SuperValu added, a point that was also made by the union that represents Jewel-Osco employees, Local 881. Union employees cannot be forced to take unpaid time off. The program is directed at office employees, not grocery-store workers.
On Wednesday SuperValu announced that it was closing about 20 underperforming stores in New England, Philadelphia and the West Coast. Stores in the Chicago area will be unaffected, a SuperValu spokesman said. Get the full story »
Commodities rebound in rally; soy leads the way
U.S. corn, soybean and wheat futures surged Wednesday in line with a broad rally across commodity markets as an inflow of fund money and signs of an improving economy resumed the hot streak of 2010. Get the full story »
Jewel-Osco parent sees shares fall after downgrade
The stock price of several grocers fell in trading Tuesday following a downgrade by a BMO Capital Markets analyst.
Analyst Karen Short lowered her price target for Jewel-Osco parent Supervalu Inc. to $11 from $13 and lowered earnings estimates, citing the company’s inability to drive traffic in its stores. Shares of Supervalu dropped 62 cents, or 6.6 percent, to $8.99 in afternoon dealings. Get the full story »
Oil slips, ends lower on profit taking
Oil prices fell on Wednesday, but stayed close to recent 26-month highs, pulled down in light trade by profit-taking as markets awaited the release of U.S. oil inventory data. Get the full story »
S&P 500 heads for best December since 1991
The S&P 500 headed for its best December in nearly two decades as U.S. stocks advanced in thin trade Wednesday, lifted by investor optimism about the economy in 2011. Get the full story »
Profit-taking weighs on U.S. grain markets
U.S. soybean futures ended lower on Wednesday in a profit-taking setback, retreating from more-than-two-year highs, while a weaker dollar and persistent supply worries continued to underpin prices and helped lift corn and wheat.
The losses in Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures marked the first time in eight sessions that the market lost ground. Soybeans have been rallying on concerns over hot and dry weather in major exporter Argentina. Corn futures also are garnering fundamental support from the detrimental crop weather there. Get the full story »
Rogers index to cut CBOT wheat holdings
The Rogers International Commodity Index will cut its Chicago Board of Trade wheat holdings while boosting its investment in rice in January.
Rogers will reduce the weight of CBOT wheat in its index to 4.75 percent from 6 percent, it said in a statement released on Monday morning. Its rice weighting will rise to 0.75 percent from 0.50 percent. Get the full story »
Bonds flat after Chinese rate hike
A move by China to slow the pace of its economic growth is having a minimal impact on the U.S. bond market.
Bond prices are mostly flat on a day when the remnants of a blizzard in the Northeast disrupted much of the financial industry. Stock and bond markets are seeing little trading volume during a week that has traditionally been one of the quietest of the year. Get the full story »
Gold regains lost ground after China rate increase
Spot gold regained lost ground on Monday, as bargain hunting trickled in after prices dropped about one percent in early trade in response to China’s interest rate increase on Saturday. Get the full story »
Citadel delivers 10% gain on 20th anniversary
Hedge fund firm Citadel, one of the world’s biggest, returned 10 percent to its investors this year, more than double what its peers earned on average.
The Chicago-based firm’s flagship Kensington and Wellington funds climbed about 10 percent, according to a person who has seen the numbers but was not allowed to discuss them publicly. Get the full story »
PrivateBancorp stock tumbles on downgrade
Shares of PrivateBancorp Inc. are down 3.9 percent Thursday morning after a BMO Capital Markets report downgraded it to “market perform” from “outperform.”
The “market perform” designation means that it’s now forecast to perform about in line with the market. Get the full story »
