Dec. 21, 2010 at 4:25 p.m.
Filed under:
Airlines,
Internet,
Litigation,
Updated
By Julie Johnsson
Orbitz Worldwide Inc. stopped selling American Airlines’ tickets on Tuesday afternoon after a Cook County Circuit Court judge allowed the nation’s #3 airline to yank all content from the online travel giant.
American said it pulled its inventory from Orbitz immediately after the ruling. Customers who need to change tickets booked through Orbitz.com should call 1-800-433-7300, the airline advised.
Texas-based American had sought to sever ties to the Chicago-based online travel agency on Dec. 1 as a result of a contract dispute with Orbitz and Travelport, the online travel giant’s largest shareholder. Get the full story »
Dec. 21, 2010 at 3:08 p.m.
Filed under:
Beverages,
Food,
Packaged foods,
Sports,
Updated
By Emily Bryson York
Battling back from a dismal 2009, Gatorade is putting on its game face and launching a new advertising campaign seeking to cast itself as more than a sports drink.
Starting Wednesday, the Chicago-based unit of PepsiCo Inc. will be promoting in commercials its “G Series,” a trio of products it introduced earlier this year that targets student athletes looking for a drink before, during and after a workout or athletic event. Get the full story »
Dec. 21, 2010 at 6:11 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
M&A,
Packaged foods,
Updated
By Reuters
In the past five years, Sara Lee Corp. once a hodgepodge of consumer brands, has narrowed its focus to food. But its businesses, which include Douwe Egberts coffee and Hillshire Farm deli meats, still have little in common, one reason the company has become a tempting takeover target.
Earlier this year, Sara Lee’s board rebuffed an approach by private-equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. In recent weeks, it has been considering a sale of the company to Brazilian meat processor JBS SA, people familiar with the matter said. Get the full story »
Dec. 20, 2010 at 3:01 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Energy,
Transportation,
Updated
By Associated Press
The world’s biggest gas-guzzling nation has limits after all.
After seven decades of mostly uninterrupted growth, U.S. gasoline demand is at the start of a long-term decline. By 2030, Americans will burn at least 20 percent less gasoline than today, experts say, even as millions of more cars clog the roads. Get the full story »
Dec. 20, 2010 at 11:55 a.m.
Filed under:
Chicago executives,
Personnel moves,
Updated
By Reuters
Groupon has brought in a former Amazon.com Inc executive as its new chief financial officer, the discount coupon provider said.
Jason Child, a former vice president of finance for Amazon’s international business, took on the new role with Groupon on Monday. Get the full story »
Dec. 10, 2010 at 4:26 p.m.
Filed under:
Retirement,
Updated
By Dow Jones Newswires
Plenty of folks are aware of the best states for retirees. But what are the 10 worst states in which to spend your golden years?
People of Illinois, California, New York, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Ohio, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Nevada — you probably already know the answer. The list, with Illinois leading the pack, comes from website TopRetirements.com.
According to John Brady, president of TopRetirements.com, the 10 states earn this dubious distinction largely because of three factors: fiscal health, taxation and climate. Get the full story »
Dec. 10, 2010 at 3:45 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Updated
By Reuters
General Motors CEO Dan Akerson speaks at the Economic Club of Washington, Dec. 10, 2010. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
General Motors will seek some relaxation of executive pay restrictions imposed by the U.S. government as a condition of providing $50 billion in bailout and bankruptcy financing.
The automaker’s chief executive, Dan Akerson, told the Washington Economic Club that he would meet with the Obama administration’s acting special paymaster, Pat Geoghegan, later on Friday to discuss the matter.
“We have to be competitive and attract and retain great people. We’ve been able to do that. But we’re starting to lose them,” Akerson said. Get the full story »
Dec. 10, 2010 at 10:59 a.m.
Filed under:
Jobs/employment,
Layoffs,
Retail,
Updated
By Emily Bryson York
TJX Cos. says it is shuttering its A.J. Wright discount stores, cutting 4,400 jobs and converting the stores to other brands such as T.J. Maxx.
According to a company spokeswoman, the Chicago area has 11 A.J. Wright stores now slated for conversion to T.J. Maxx, Marshalls or HomeGoods. Eleven other A.J. Wright stores that will close. Get the full story »
Dec. 10, 2010 at 10:25 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Government,
International,
Trade,
Updated
By Reuters
The U.S. trade deficit narrowed much more than expected in October, as exports rose a robust 3.2 percent and imports declined slightly in the face of slackening demand for industrial and petroleum products, a Commerce Department report showed on Friday. Get the full story »
Dec. 8, 2010 at 5:29 p.m.
Filed under:
Credit Cards,
Policy,
Politics,
Privacy issues,
Updated
By Reuters
Credit card giants MasterCard and Visa came under intense cyber attack Wednesday as supporters of WikiLeaks retaliated for moves against Julian Assange after the release of U.S. diplomatic cables that angered and embarrassed Washington.
The Swedish prosecution authority, whose arrest order for Assange over accusations of sexual offenses led a British court to remand the 39-year-old WikiLeaks website founder in custody, also said it had reported an online attack to police. Get the full story »
Dec. 8, 2010 at 11:45 a.m.
Filed under:
Internet,
Updated
By Wailin Wong
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is moving to a cloud-based system for e-mail, with its data being stored in Microsoft’s data center in suburban Chicago.
Cloud computing moves applications to the Internet, cutting costs and facilitating easier access to information. The USDA said it awarded a contract in May to Dell for Microsoft Online Services, aiming to move all of its e-mail, instant messaging and collaboration applications to the cloud.
Microsoft’s data center in Northlake opened in September 2009 and is home to thousands of servers that provide processing power and storage for the company’s cloud services. Get the full story »
Dec. 7, 2010 at 4:26 p.m.
Filed under:
Energy,
M&A,
Updated
By Julie Wernau
Nicor's Naperville headquarters. (Tribune file photo)
Tuesday’s announcement that AGL Resources would acquire Naperville-based Nicor Inc. for $2.4 billion would put AGL in an envious position if energy policy moves to replace coal with natural gas — with a natural gas distribution system that would stretch from Chicago to the east coast and a bevy of natural gas storage facilities around the country.
The deal — which is subject to several layers of regulatory approval — would create the natural gas industry’s largest public company by market cap. Together, the companies would have annual revenues of $5.1 billion, according to a statement and carry a market cap that is nearly twice the size of its nearest peer in a deal expected to close in the second half of 2011. Get the full story »
Dec. 7, 2010 at 3:55 p.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Investigations,
Updated
By Becky Yerak
First Security Trust & Savings Bank loan officer Jeffrey Gonsiewski, pleaded guilty in August to one count of federal bank fraud, was sentenced to 63 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Elaine Bucklo on Tuesday.
The U.S. Government last summer had accused the 56-year-old high school graduate of changing loan terms or arranging loans to be made in a scheme that ultimately caused the Elmwood Park-based lender, part of the Wirtz family empire, to lose more than $5.5 million. Get the full story »
Dec. 7, 2010 at 3:02 p.m.
Filed under:
Computers,
Internet,
Technology,
Updated
By Reuters
The first laptops powered by Google Inc’s Chrome system will hit store shelves later than expected, as the Internet company works out bugs in a family of Web-centric computers intended to take on Microsoft Corp and Apple Inc . Get the full story »
Dec. 6, 2010 at 4:27 p.m.
Filed under:
M&A,
Media,
Updated
By Reuters
Hedge fund manager William Ackman is raising his wager on bookseller Borders Group Inc, offering to help it buy larger rival Barnes & Noble Inc for $963.7 million. Get the full story »
