WW Grainger Inc. posted better-than-expected quarterly results and raised its full-year outlook for the second time this year, but its shares fell 3 percent as the industrial distributor forecast a moderation in fourth-quarter organic revenue growth. Get the full story »
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Dominick’s parent earnings down on lower prices
Dominck’s parent Safeway Inc. said lower prices drove its third-quarter profit down 5 percent, from a year ago, to $128.8 million.
Sales fell slightly, to $9.4 billion from $9.5 billion. The Pleasanton, Calif. company’s same store sales fell 2 percent, excluding fuel sales. Safeway pointed to lower prices for the same-store sales decline. Get the full story »
Oct. 14, 2010 at 10:34 a.m.
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Filed under: Agriculture/Farming, Chicago executives, M&A, Personnel moves, Updated Potash to move some staff to Canada
Potash Corp. has pledged to move key staff from Chicago to Saskatchewan province as it tries to win political favour by matching BHP Billiton’s promise to beef up its Canadian headquarters if it wins control of the fertilizer maker.
Saskatoon-based Potash outlined a series of commitments to the province in a bid to sway political opinion against BHP which has also promised to move key jobs back to Canada if its $39 billion takeover bid is successful. Get the full story »
Wal-Mart to offer free shipping to Chicago FedEx offices
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to unveil Thursday free delivery of purchases made through its web site to Chicago FedEx offices — a move aimed at reaching urban consumers.
The world’s largest retailer launched the pilot program, called FedEx Site-to-Store, this summer in Boston and Los Angeles. The test expands this week to Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.. There will be 40 FedEx sites participating in the Chicago market, concentrated in the city with a smattering of sites in the suburbs, according to Wal-Mart spokesman Ravi Jariwala. Get the full story »
Officials in 50 states launch foreclosure probe
Protestors at a foreclosure and eviction rally in Menlo Park, Calif., Sept. 24, 2010. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
All 50 states launched a joint investigation of the mortgage industry on Wednesday, a move some experts fear will cause uncertainty and threaten the recovery of the fragile housing market.
The state attorneys general are looking at allegations some banks used shoddy or fraudulent paperwork to remove struggling borrowers from their homes during a foreclosure crisis that is one of the most visible wounds of the 2007-2009 recession.
“We are in the fourth year of a housing and economic crisis that was brought on by lax practices of the mortgage lending industry,” Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson said in a statement. “The latest allegations of corner cutting and slipshod paperwork are troubling, but perhaps not surprising.” Get the full story »
Apple stock surpasses $300 benchmark
Apple Inc.’s shares cruised past $300 for the first time as investors anticipated another strong earnings report from the iPhone maker next week. Get the full story »
Tribune Co. exec apologizes for ‘offensive’ memo
Days after Tribune Co.’s corporate management was characterized in a newspaper article as fostering a sexist “frat house” atmosphere, one of its top executives sent a company-wide e-mail with links to off-color satirical videos.
Among the videos was one the executive, Lee Abrams, labeled “Sluts” in which a gyrating woman appeared to pour liquor on her bare breasts.
Abrams, chief innovation officer of Tribune Co., which owns the Chicago Tribune, apologized “to everyone who was offended” in another company-wide e-mail Tuesday. Get the full story »
Wal-Mart to start selling iPads
Wal-Mart Stores will start selling Apple’s iPad tablet computer this Friday.
Wal-Mart said the iPad will be available in hundreds of its stores in the United States to start, expanding to more than 2,300 outlets by mid-November.
Wal-Mart rivals Best Buy and Target are already selling the iPad, which Apple launched in April. Get the full story »
Cities, counties struggle to cover pensions
The pension benefits that U.S. cities and counties are unable to cover could total as much as $574 billion, according to a study released on Tuesday.
The study, conducted by academics at Northwestern University and the University of Rochester, looked at how long the assets for 77 defined pension plans sponsored by 50 major U.S. cities and counties will last.
It found that six major cities — Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Jacksonville and St. Paul — can only cover promised benefits through 2020. Get the full story »
Chicago Spire may have been dealt a final blow
Three years after it was hired for work at the Chicago Spire site, a Des Plaines-based company’s effort to get paid $512,000 may be the final unraveling of Shelbourne Development Group’s plan to build what was supposed to be the tallest U.S. skyscraper.
Earlier this month, Anglo Irish Bank Corp., Ltd., the bank that gave Shelbourne funds to acquire the property at 400 N. Lake Shore Drive, filed a foreclosure lawsuit against Shelbourne. Anglo Irish said Shelbourne defaulted on its $77.3 million loan.
The bank is asking the court, among other things, to order a judgment of foreclosure and sale, and to put its claims ahead of all others. In the past two years, numerous firms that have worked on the project have placed liens against it, claiming they are owed more than $46 million for completed work.
Jimmy John’s sues Halsted Street Deli
From Crain’s Chicago Business | Champaign-based Jimmy John Enterprises LLC has filed a lawsuit accusing the Chicago-based parent of Halsted Street Deli, for infringing on two of its trademarked sandwiches — Turkey Tom and Hunter’s Club.. Get the full story>>
Microsoft launches new phones, available Nov. 8
The new Windows Phone 7 is presented at the Windows Phone 7 launch press conference in New York, Oct. 11, 2010. (Reuters/Jessica Rinaldi)
See a photo gallery of the Windows 7 phones here.
Microsoft on Monday unveiled its plan to battle the iPhone, Android and BlackBerry smartphones with its new Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system.
At a press event in New York, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said that Windows Phone 7 smartphones would be available in the United States on AT&T’s network.
“When Microsoft first showed us Windows Phone 7, we knew it was going to be a winner,” AT&T CEO Mobility and Consumer Markets Ralph de la Vega said at the event. “It was different than anything we’ve seen.” Get the full story »
General Growth names Ackman spinoff chairman
General Growth Properties Inc. on Friday named the board of its future spin-off company and appointed hedge fund manager William Ackman to become its chairman when the mall owner and property developer emerges from bankruptcy. Get the full story »
Abbott confirms it will withdraw diet drug Meridia
By Bruce Japsen and Andrew Zajac | Abbott Laboratories said Friday that it would withdraw the diet drug Meridia at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration less than a month after it failed to win over one of the federal agency’s safety advisory panels.
The FDA confirmed the North Chicago-based drug giant’s decision, saying Abbott withdrew the drug because of “clinical trial data indicating an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.” Get the full story »
Honda launches 70-mpg Fit to take on Toyota Prius
Honda presented its Fit Hybrid car in Tokyo Oct. 8, 2010. (Reuters/Issei Kato)
Honda Motor Co. said on Friday it would sell the hybrid version of its popular Fit subcompact for 1.59 million yen ($19,310) in Japan, making it the cheapest gasoline-electric car on the domestic market.
The company expects to sell about 5,600 units a month.
Competition in the hybrid segment is set to heat up as industry leader Toyota Motor Corp works to expand its line-up to meet growing demand for fuel-efficient cars from drivers around the world. Get the full story »
