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(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Oakbrook Terrace-based Redbox is adding video games to its $1 a night DVD-rental kiosks in Chicago this month as part of an expanded video game test pilot.
Kiosks will be stocked with games for Wii, Playstation and Xbox 360, the company said, in select markets in the West, Midwest and Atlantic coast regions and are available for $2 per night.
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Consumer prices are up slightly over last year driven by climbing food and energy costs, according to a government report released Friday.
The Consumer Price Index, a key measure of inflation, rose 1.1 percent over the last 12 months ending in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. Any number above zero means prices are rising, but a rate around 1 percent is considered very slow growth. Get the full story »
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Verizon Wireless will join rival carrier AT&T in selling Apple Inc’s iPad later this month, showing it may move closer to disrupting the tight relationship between the device maker and AT&T.
All three models of the popular tablet computer, which comes with Wi-Fi access, will be available at Verizon Wireless stores as well as AT&T stores from October 28, the companies said. Prices will range from $629 for the 16-gigabyte (GB) model to $829 for the 64 GB model at both of their stores. Get the full story »
Mobile phone companies would have to warn customers before they rack up eye-popping extra fees on their bills under rules that the U.S. Federal Communications Commission will propose Thursday.
The FCC wants to curb so-called bill shock by making mobile phone companies send text or voice alerts to customers before charging them for services not covered by their plans.
“Our core goal is to make it easy for consumers to determine their destiny when it comes to their services and their monthly bills,” said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. Get the full story »
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 »
Mobile phone users in Illinois are paying hundreds of dollars every month for unused minutes and unnecessary services, the Citizens Utility Board said in a report released Monday.
CUB studied 4,400 cell bills entered into its online Cellphone Saver between August 2009 and July 2010 and determined that those consumers are overpaying by an average of $359 a year. Get the full story »
U.S. stocks finished higher Friday, with the Dow closing above the 11,000 mark for the first time in five months, as a surprisingly weak jobs report strengthened the case for more stimulus from the Federal Reserve. Get the full story »
It looks like PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division is giving its SunChips bags another make over — only to make sure they are less noisy.
Frito-Lay hopes to quiet complaints about the chips bags by switching out the biodegradable bags for older packaging on most flavors, AP reports.
The change comes after consumers had grumbled about the loud crackling sound the biodegradable bags made.
The company is switching back to original packaging, which is made of a type of plastic, for five of the six varieties of the chips, AP says.
The Justice Department sued American Express on Monday for allegedly violating antitrust law over credit card acceptance rules, and settled with Visa and MasterCard on the same issue.
The Justice Department, in a filing with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, said the case was focused on credit card companies’ efforts to stop merchants from steering customers to credit cards with lower fees imposed on the merchant.
In a proposed final judgment, Visa and MasterCard must allow merchants to offer discounts to customers who use cards that charge the stores less. Get the full story »
Consumers aren’t in a spending mood and there is little indication that they will be anytime soon, according to a new poll from Harris Interactive.
Indeed, the market research firm has asked the same set of questions to consumers seven times since the economic crisis began in 2008 and, with few exceptions, the responses have scarcely changed, the New York-based firm said.
The likelihood that consumers will make a big ticket purchase remains low, with 88 percent saying they are “not likely” to buy or lease a new car or truck and 79 percent saying they are “not likely” to buy a computer. Similarly, 90 percent said they are “not likely” to buy a new house or condo. Get the full story »
Microsoft Corp. plans to unveil its Windows Phone 7 on Oct. 11 in a bid to catch up in the mobile phone market.
The software firm announced the launch on its Web site, posting an invitation to the unveiling in New York next Monday. Get the full story »
Commonwealth Edison has been padding customer bills to pay for improvements that are properly the utility’s burden, according to a Second District Appellate Court decision that could mean lowered utility bills for consumers.
The decision, handed down Friday, overturns a 2008 decision by the Illinois Commerce Commission that allowed the utility to pass on the costs associated with creating a “smart grid” to consumers, including a recently launched program to test smart meters as part of its “innovation corridor.” Get the full story »
Consumer spending rose slightly more than expected in August, but inflation remained subdued, leaving the door open for the Federal Reserve to launch a fresh round of monetary policy easing. Get the full story »
