Associated Press | The economy grew at a solid 3.2 percent pace during the first quarter
of this year, as consumers boosted their spending by the most in three years.
The Commerce Department’s initial estimate of the economy’s performance in the January-to-March quarter, released Friday, provided more evidence that the economy is strengthening. It marked the third straight quarterly gain as the United States heals from the longest and
deepest recession since the 1930s. Still, growth was weaker than in the fourth quarter of last year, when the economy grew at 5.6 percent.
Associated Press via Bloomberg | Allstate Corp. spent $1.08 million in the first quarter to lobby the federal government on consumer protection rights, health care and other issues, according to a recent disclosure report. That’s up 21.3 percent from the $890,000 it spent in the year-ago period, and up from the $650,000 it spent in the fourth quarter of 2009.
The Problem Solver | The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and LaJobi Inc. on Thursday announced a voluntary recall of approximately 217,000 Graco-brand drop-side cribs because they pose entrapment and suffocation hazards.
The CPSC said customers should immediately stop using the cribs and should not attempt to fix them. Get the full story: The Problem Solver.
Tower Ticker | Chicago Tribune parent Tribune Co. today filed a series of applications with the Federal Communications Commission necessary to emerge from bankruptcy protection with its broadcast portfolio intact.
Tribune Co., which owns radio station WGN-AM 720 and 23 television stations in 19 markets, including Chicago’s WGN-Ch. 9, seeks to maintain the status quo with regard to operating its broadcast assets. This will require the FCC to sign off on assignment of their broadcast licenses to the reorganized, post-bankruptcy iteration of Tribune Co., along with continued cross-ownership waivers.
Associated Press | The Federal Reserve sounded a more confident
note Wednesday that the economy is strengthening but pledged to hold
rates at record lows to make sure it gains traction.
Wrapping up a two-day meeting, the Fed in a 9-1 decision retained its
pledge to hold rates at historic lows for an “extended period.” Doing so
will help energize the recovery.
From Crain’s Chicago Business | The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has begun soliciting bids for Midwest Bank & Trust Co., signaling that the ailing Elmwood Park-based bank could be seized as soon as May 14.
Tribune staff report | The U.S. safety agency OSHA has proposed $60,000 in penalties against Chicago-based National Wrecking Co. for safety violations.
Associated Press | A new round of inspections was ordered Monday for some Boeing 737s that
can develop a dangerous vibration in the tail.
The inspections cover the mechanism that attaches a movable flap to the
plane’s elevator, the surface in the plane’s tail that points the nose
up or down. If that flap comes loose it can cause a severe vibration,
the Federal Aviation Administration said.
By Becky Yerak| MB
Financial Inc., which last Friday bought its fifth and sixth failed
banks since 2009, said Monday that it has the wherewithal to pick up
more collapsed banks even as it digests newly acquired Broadway Bank and
New Century Bank.
The Chicago-based bank said traditional mergers and acquisitions
involving sounder banks are probably unlikely for the foreseeable
future. It’s safer to stick with deals in which the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corp. shares losses on the collapsed lenders, MB’s chief
executive said Monday.
By Greg Burns | As federal legislation reforming the financial system inches closer to a vote on Capitol Hill, Chicago’s CME Group is gaining ground in the stock market, as investors see gold in the back-office clearing of over-the-counter derivatives.
A Democrat-backed measure in the Senate would push leading U.S. banks to spin off their lucrative derivatives trading desks and introduce new clearing requirements in the vast market for swaps. CME, which runs one of the world’s top derivatives clearinghouses, saw its stock rise Monday to $346.88 per share as of midday, up $12. CME shares briefly dipped below $270 apiece in mid-February.
The Chicago-based operator of futures exchanges is slated to report its earnings Thursday morning. A CME spokesman declined to comment on the legislation, saying, “We continue to review the proposals.”
Senators Chris Dodd (left, D-Conn.) and Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) appeared on “Meet the Press” on Sunday, April 25. (William B. Plowman/NBC NewsWire via Getty Images)
Associated Press | With a showdown vote looming, Democrats are resisting Republican
appeals for a broad compromise on financial overhaul legislation and
are eager to test whether GOP unity will crack in an anti-Wall Street
political climate.
The top negotiators on the regulatory bill — Democratic Sen.
Christopher Dodd and Republican Sen. Richard Shelby — professed to be
close to a deal during a joint appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
But Shelby conceded that “inches sometimes are miles,” and the two did
not hold a negotiating session Sunday.
By John Byrne |
Mayor Richard Daley said Friday that government needs to get out of the
convention business and consider more changes to rules at McCormick
Place than those suggested by an interim board running the troubled
lakefront center.
“I believe you’re going to rent the space out.
You’re going to rent the space out, a person comes in, takes the space,
and he or she — that organization — contracts everything out,” Daley
said. “The only thing McCormick Place is sent is one bill for rent.
They’re responsible for all their contracts and subcontracts, and all
the workers that deal with that convention, and not McCormick Place.”
Associated Press | A group of House Republicans is asking the Securities and Exchange Commission’s inspector general to investigate whether agency officials engaged in unauthorized disclosure of charges against Goldman Sachs.
A letter Friday from the eight lawmakers suggests SEC employees might have leaked information to influence debate in Congress on financial regulation. The lawmakers question the timing of disclosures about the agency’s actions and cite a news article that described the Goldman suit before the agency’s official announcement. Republican Rep. Darrell Issa of California says any violation of the SEC’s disclosure rules “would be deeply troubling.”
The Republicans also asked the inspector general to investigate whether the SEC’s charges themselves were timed to influence debate on the legislation. The SEC has denied that.
Dow Jones Newswires | Ford Motor Co. is recalling 33,256 vehicles
to fix a problem with front seat recliners in some of its 2010 models
of Fusion and Mercury Milan sedans as well as several Explorer, Explorer
Sport Trac and Mercury Mountaineer SUVs, the automaker said Friday.
Some of the vehicles failed to meet the requirements of the federal
motor-vehicle safety standard. “In the event of a crash, the seatback
and head restraint may move rearward, increasing the risk of injury,”
according to the recall notice posted by the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration.
Passengers aboard a 2007 JetBlue flight, waiting to leave John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Due to a snow storm, the flight was canceled, but not until the passengers waited 8 1/2 hours in the plane. (AP Photo/Lou Martins)
Associated Press | Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said
Thursday that he has turned down requests from five airlines for
temporary exemptions to a rule against keeping passengers waiting longer
than three hours on airport tarmacs.
The new rule takes effect April 29. The department has said airlines may
be fined up to $27,500 per passenger for each violation of the rule.
(Chris Walker/Chicago Tribune)
Senators Chris Dodd (left, D-Conn.) and Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) appeared on “Meet the Press” on Sunday, April 25. (William B. Plowman/NBC NewsWire via Getty Images)
Passengers aboard a 2007 JetBlue flight, waiting to leave John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Due to a snow storm, the flight was canceled, but not until the passengers waited 8 1/2 hours in the plane. (AP Photo/Lou Martins)
