United Continental Holdings Inc.’s Continental Airlines will cut about 500 jobs at the carrier’s Houston offices between April 1 and June 30, the Houston Chronicle reported Monday, citing a letter from Continental to the Texas Workforce Commission.
Around the time of its Oct. 1 merger with United Airlines to form the biggest U.S. carrier, Continental said it would continue to employ its Houston-based management and administrative workers through March. Get the full story »
The government on Tuesday plans to release the findings of its investigation into reports of sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles.
The Transportation Department and NASA have been studying the safety issues that led Toyota to recall more than 11 million vehicles since the fall of 2009. Get the full story »
Google and European Union regulators are in tentative talks to resolve an antitrust probe against the Internet’s dominant search engine, a source familiar with the case said Monday.
A deal could avert a lengthy battle and possible fine for the U.S.-based company. Get the full story »
Delta Air Lines will offer a premium economy section on international flights this summer, with more legroom and room to recline — at an additional cost of $80 to $160 each way.
The new seats will be available to book starting in May. Get the full story »
The U.S. Justice Department plans to take the lead in lawsuits accusing Abbott Laboratories of illegally promoting anti-seizure drug Depakote for uses not approved by regulators, including dementia.
The Justice Department filed notices last week in federal court in western Virginia saying it would intervene in at least three lawsuits against Abbott that were previously confidential under laws designed to protect would-be whistleblowers who come forward with information about alleged health-care fraud. The lawsuits were made public as a result of the department’s intervention. Get the full story »
The Huffington Post this morning. (Reuters)
AOL Inc. will buy Arianna Huffington’s influential website for $315 million, looking to the high-profile liberal pundit to rescue it from the dustbin of Internet history.
The move comes at a hefty premium. AOL is estimated to pay 32 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for the Huffington Post, said Benchmark Co analyst Clayton Moran.
Similar content deals, such as Hellman & Friedman’s acquisition of Internet Brands in September 2010, typically go for eight to 12 times earnings, said Moran. Get the full story »
President Barack Obama speaks at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Feb. 7, 2011 in Washington. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
President Barack Obama said Monday he wanted to lower the corporate tax rate and pay for it by eliminating tax loopholes, and requested support from the business community to achieve that goal.
“Another barrier government can remove is a burdensome corporate tax code with one of the highest rates in the world,” Obama said in a speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Obama’s visit to the powerful business lobby group is his latest effort to improve relations with the corporate world and shift to the political center, following big losses for his Democrats in November elections. Get the full story »
A U.S. trade panel Monday approved combined final duties ranging up to nearly 450 percent on steel drill pipe from China used in oil production.
The U.S. International Trade Commission said there was sufficient evidence U.S. companies are threatened with harm by unfairly low priced competition from China. Get the full story »
Loews Corp. reported its best quarter of the year as strong investment income from its biggest holding, CNA Financial, helped the conglomerate post a better-than-expected 16 percent increase in quarterly profit.
New York-based Loews, run by the billionaire Tisch family, said net investment income rose 20 percent to $711 million for the fourth quarter. Get the full story »
Sprint Nextel Corp. plans to unveil a smartphone with a twin set of touchscreens made by Kyocera Corp. late Monday, according to a person familiar with the device.
The device, called the Echo, features two 3.5-inch touchscreens that can be stacked side by side to form a pseudo-tablet design. Users can accomplish multiple tasks on the two screens, or drag items from one screen to the other. The phone, which runs on Google Inc.’s Android software, uses a pivot hinge that allows one screen to be tucked under the other, transforming it into a more conventional touchscreen phone. Get the full story »
The government says it will auction warrants it holds for Illinois-based Wintrust Financial Corp. on Tuesday in the latest effort to recoup the costs of the $700 billion financial bailout. Get the full story »
From World Bakers | A number of food companies have stopped production or closed stores due to the upheavel in Egypt.
Kraft Foods said it was among a number of food companies to have temporarily suspend its operations in Egypt amid political upheaval. Kraft, which has four plants and one business office in Egypt where it makes products including Oreo and Mikado and markets brands like Tuc biscuits in Egypt said its facilities were “secure”. Get the full story>>
Actor Jeff Garlin. (Tribune)
ELITE STREET | By Bob Goldsborough | Actor and comedian Jeff Garlin and his wife have paid close to $600,000 to buy a vintage six-room condominium unit on the Gold Coast, less than a block from Lake Michigan.
A Chicago native and a Second City alum, Garlin, 48, is best known for his longtime role as Larry David’s manager Jeff Greene on HBO’s popular “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” Garlin also has appeared in more than two dozen films, including a major role in “The Bounty Hunter” and a significant voice role in “WALL-E.” Get the full story »
World stocks rose on Monday, hovering near a 29-month high on further signs of global economic recovery, and copper rallied to a record high while U.S. 10-year Treasury yields hit their highest since May.
World equities as measured by the MSCI All-Country World Index advanced 0.2 percent after gaining 2.2 percent last week. The index is up 3.4 percent so far this year, while MSCI emerging markets index is down 2 percent.
