Betting that the future of the Web is in social apps and services, venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, along with Amazon, Facebook and Zynga are launching a $250 million fund to help such startups grow. Get the full story »
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Caterpillar reports strong earnings; investors worry
Caterpillar Inc. reported stronger-than-expected earnings on Thursday and raised its full-year forecast, but warned that a number of factors could weigh on its performance next year, and its shares fell as much as 2.8 percent.
The world’s largest maker of earth-moving equipment, which last year had its worst one-year decline in sales since the Great Depression, said it expected sales next year to snap back to pre-recession levels. Get the full story »
Oct. 21, 2010 at 2:30 p.m.
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Filed under: Agriculture/Farming, International, M&A, Policy, Politics, Updated Canada province formally rejects BHP’s Potash bid
The Canadian province that is home to Potash Corp. said on Thursday it was opposed to a $39 billion bid by BHP Billiton to buy the world’s largest fertilizer supplier.
Saskatchewan will urge the federal government to block the Anglo-Australian miner’s hostile bid for Potash Corp, which is based in the province. Get the full story »
Oct. 21, 2010 at 1:56 p.m.
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Filed under: Bankruptcy, Commercial real estate, Real estate, Updated General Growth cleared to exit bankruptcy
General Growth Properties’ reorganization plan was approved on Thursday, paving the way for the mall operator to exit bankruptcy a year and a half after it was brought to its knees under billions in debt it could not refinance.
General Growth said it expected to emerge from bankruptcy around Nov. 8. It then would turn its attention to a $2.25 billion share sale to raise capital. Get the full story »
McDonald’s shares hit all-time high on 3Q profit
A McDonald's restaurant in Bismark, N.D. (AFP/Karen Bleier)
McDonald’s shares hit an all-time high after the restaurant chain said its third-quarter profit surged 10 percent to $1.4 billion on growth in “all areas of the world.” Shares in McDonald’s were up 2.57 percent to $79.40 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Comparable sales grew 6 percent worldwide, 5.3 percent in the U.S., 4.1 percent in Europe and Asia/Pacific, and 8.1 percent in the Middle East and Africa.
Earnings per share increased 12 percent to $1.29. Revenues were up 4 percent to $6.3 billion. Analysts polled by Thompson Reuters had been expecting $6.23 billion in revenues and earnings per share of $1.25. Get the full story »
Baxter 3Q profit up 12%, raises outlook
Baxter International Inc. reported third-quarter profits up 12 percent on improved sales of medication delivery devices.
The Deerfield-based medical product giant reported profits of $595 million, or $1.01 per share, compared to $530 million, or 87 cents a share in the third quarter of 2009. Revenues rose 3 percent to $3.2 billion. Get the full story »
Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville coming to Navy Pier
Jimmy Buffett. (John Fitzhugh/Biloxi Sun Herald/MCT)
Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville restaurant is sailing into Navy Pier for a 10-year run.
The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which owns and operates the pier, announced the lease Wednesday morning.
“So, we’ll have the Caribbean in February on Navy Pier,” said David Mosena, chairman of the authority, known as McPier. The authority is hoping the restaurant and entertainment venue will serve as an attendance magnet year-round. Get the full story »
Apple’s Mac attack includes 2 Air ultralight laptops
Apple's new ultralight MacBook Air laptops will start at $999. (Getty Images)
Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the thinnest, lightest Mac laptop yet with features borrowed from iPhones and iPads, hoping to grab more market share from Microsoft’s Windows PCs.
The new MacBook Air starts at $999, weighs as little as 2.3 pounds (1 kg), and measures 0.11 inches (0.3 cm) at its thinnest to 0.68 inches (1.7 cm) at the rear. It is designed to replicate the versatility of popular devices like the iPhone and iPad on its venerable computer line, and will incorporate Facetime video chats and an apps store.
Running on flash storage like the iPad rather than hard drives like conventional computers, it can power up instantly and store data twice as fast, executive said. Get the full story »
Chicago, New York team up to draw winter tourists
Tourists pose for photographs in front of "The Bean" in Millennium Park, Jan. 28, 2010. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago and New York tourism officials announced Tuesday their first-ever collaborative effort to lure visitors to their respective cities in the dead of winter.
The Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau and the Chicago Office of Tourism joined with NYC & Co., the organization that markets the Big Apple, to secure discounts on American Airline flights between their cities during the traditionally slow post-holiday months. Get the full story »
Oct. 20, 2010 at 10:52 a.m.
Filed under: Commercial real estate, Magazines, Media, Real estate, Updated Playboy puts Chicago HQ up for sublease
Playboy Enterprises Inc. is looking to sublease its headquarters space at 680 N. Lake Shore Drive.
The company confirmed this morning that it hired real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield to sublease the 15th and 16th floors of the building because the space “is too big for us,” said spokeswoman Martha Lindeman.
Lindeman said the company has not started looking for a new home to relocate its 245 full-time employees. “We haven’t made any plans at all,” she said. Get the full story »
Abbott profit tumbles after layoffs, drug withdrawal
Abbott Laboratories reported third-quarter profits tumbled 40 percent thanks to the costs of withdrawing a diet drug from the U.S. market and global cost-cutting in the wake of its acquisition of Solvay Pharmaceuticals.
The North Chicago-based drug and medical product giant reported earnings of $891 million, or 57 cents a share, compared to $1.5 billion, or 95 cents a share in the third quarter of 2009.
Net earnings included after-tax charges of $513 million, or 33 cents a share due to a major product withdrawal, a recall of infant formula in the U.S. and costs that Abbott said was primarily related to restructuring following the Solvay deal. Abbott last month said it would cut about 3,000 jobs worldwide or about 3 percent of the company’s global workforce to eliminate redundancies following the purchase. Get the full story »
Boeing swings to profit on plane sales
Boeing Co. posted a quarterly profit that beat expectations, and it boosted its full year forecast, helped by a strong recovery in the commercial airplane market.
The world’s largest aerospace and defense company’s order backlog rose, especially on the commercial side of its business, helped by a surge in orders from the Middle East and Asia. Get the full story »
Oct. 15, 2010 at 3:18 p.m.
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Filed under: Investigations, Litigation, Real estate, Updated Countrywide’s Mozilo settles suit for $67.5 million
Angelo R. Mozilo, who presided over the spectacular rise and devastating fall of Countrywide Financial Corp., struck a deal Friday to avoid going to trial next week on accusations of investor fraud and insider trading. Mozilo agree to pay $22.5 million in fines to the SEC and to turn over $45 million in ill-gotten gains to former shareholders who have sued him.
GM sets aside up to 5% of IPO for employees
General Motors Co. will allocate up to 5 percent of the common stock to be sold in its initial public offering for its employees, retirees and dealers, the automaker said Thursday. Get the full story »
