Bloomberg News | Manufacturing probably expanded in September at the slowest pace in 10 months, underscoring the Federal Reserve’s forecast of “modest” U.S. growth, economists said before reports today. Get the full story »
Filed under: Consumer news
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Fisher-Price recalling nearly 11 million toys
One of several models of tricycles being recalled. (Fisher-Price)
By Bloomberg News
Mattel Inc.’s Fisher-Price subsidiary is recalling almost 11 million toys, including tricycles, after reports of children being cut or choking, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said today.
The recall is the largest for toys since Congress passed a law two years ago beefing up the product-safety regulator’s powers. Mattel and Fisher-Price were fined $2.3 million in June 2009 for toys violating federal lead-paint laws, at the time the largest civil fine in CPSC history. Get the full story »
Sep. 29, 2010 at 2:32 p.m.
Filed under: Consumer news, Health care, Investigations, Litigation, Updated State fines unlicensed firms selling health insurance
The Illinois Department of Insurance said it has taken steps to prohibit several companies from “marketing and selling non-comprehensive health insurance” in the state without a license. Get the full story »
Nestle: No shortage of pumpkins this year
Last year, a series of heavy rains dented the pumpkin harvest, and just about any pumpkin-pie plans for after Thanksgiving. Nestle, which sells the vast majority of the canned pumpkin category, said that won’t be a problem this year. Get the full story »
Sep. 27, 2010 at 11:51 a.m.
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Filed under: Airlines, Airplanes, Airports, Consumer news, M&A How AirTran-Southwest merger affects customers
By Sara K. Clarke, Orlando Sentinel | Orlando-based AirTran Airways said today it has agreed to be bought by Dallas-based Southwest Airlines, which is the busiest carrier at Orlando International Airport. What does this mean for customers and shareholders? Read on to see: Get the full story »
Verizon CEO hints iPhone not coming soon
Comments from Verizon Communications Inc. CEO Ivan Seidenberg leave little room for the possibility of a Verizon version of the iPhone in the near future.
Speaking to an investor conference Thursday, Seidenberg said nothing about an iPhone for the company’s current network, but said he hopes Apple Inc. will come around and allow Verizon to sell the phone for a new network it’s building. The “4G” network hasn’t yet opened for service and won’t be complete next year. Get the full story »
Flat-screen TV prices to plunge for holiday season
A customer shops for TVs at Best Buy. (AP Photo/Ron Heflin)
An historically large oversupply of LCD TV panels is causing television prices to fall right in time for the holiday shopping season.
By the end of this month, LCD TV prices will be about 5 percent lower than they were at the same time last year, according research firm DisplaySearch. But a tailspin will start in October: In the last three months of the year, the firm forecasts that prices will keep falling until they bottom out at 12 percent below 2009 levels. Get the full story »
Chicago area sees slight rebound in retail sales
Retails sales in the Chicago area rebounded slightly in the first half of 2010, thanks to an uptick in apparel sales and a government stimulus program that drove appliance purchases, according to a report to be released this week.
But, no one is celebrating yet. Consumer activity in the region, while better than the same time last year, still lags the first half of 2008 when the nation was in a recession.
“It gives us a sense that things are going to get better, but very slowly,” said John Melaniphy, a Chicago-based retail real estate consultant and publisher of the report. “While the first half of 2010 showed retail sales increases, they are very narrow compared to other recession recoveries. Get the full story »
Obama chooses Warren to launch consumer bureau
President Barack Obama and Elizabeth Warren on Sept. 17, 2010. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren, appointed Friday to launch the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, likely won’t be the agency’s first official director, but she will have a major say in who gets the powerful job.
Warren also will have a broader portfolio of duties, advising President Obama on “policies and programs that are designed to protect the financial interests of middle-class families,” the White House said.
Second Illinois appliance rebate program Sept. 24
From the Chicago Sun-Times | Using federal stimulus money, Illinois will again offer residents 15 percent rebates on new Energy Star-rated major appliances, such as freezers and diswashers, up to $250 per item.
The program starts at 8 a.m. Sept 24 and is first-come, first-serve until the money runs out likely within the day. Shoppers in the first rebate program in April claimed $6.2 million in rebates within 11 hours. Get the full story>>
Head of consumer agency promises to be ‘tough cop’
Elizabeth Warren, Obama's choice to head new U.S. consumer agency. (AP)
The Harvard professor President Barack Obama is putting in charge of a new consumer protection agency says people need a “tough cop on the beat” to protect them from financial industry abuses.
Obama was naming Elizabeth Warren on Friday as a special adviser to both him and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. The financial regulatory bill Obama signed into law this year created the bureau to be an advocate for consumers in their dealings with banks, mortgage companies and other financial institutions.
First Chicago-area Chick-fil-A opens
The parking lot at the new Chick-fil-A restaurant in Aurora briefly turned into a campground, with the chain offering the first one hundred people in line a one-year supply of 52 meals coupons on Thursday. (Chuck Berman/Chicago Tribune)
Employees in crisp red shirts performed a variety of final tasks as the legendary chicken chain prepared to debut its first Chicago-area outlet at 6 a.m. Thursday at the Westfield Fox Valley Mall property on Aurora’s far east side.
An unofficial pre-opening on Wednesday drew dozens of Chick-fil-A fans from the Chicago area and beyond, lured by the prospect of free once-a-week meals for a year. The firm traditionally gives away coupons to the first 100 customers. Get the full story>>
Chase says online banking site running smoothly
JPMorgan Chase’s online banking system appeared to be up and running Thursday morning after a Monday night crash left customers with spotty or no Web access to their accounts for three days.
Chase said its online banking service is operating well today.
“By 5 or 6 o’clock yesterday, things were moving quickly again,” said Chase spokesman Tom Kelly. Get the full story »
