Feb. 3 at 3:27 p.m.
Filed under:
Cell phones,
Technology,
Wireless
By Reuters
Motorola Mobility shares rose 5 percent after AT&T Inc. said Motorola’s next product would be its flagship phone as the pair look to compete against the new Apple Inc. iPhone at Verizon Wireless.
AT&T, which first showed off the Motorola Atrix phone January 5, has given up its more than three years of exclusive rights to sell the iPhone. Motorola has been seeking new partners since Verizon, its biggest customer, has selling the phone.
The pairing of Motorola and AT&T was not a surprise for analysts. But after shaving as much as 20 percent off Motorola shares in the days after its earnings report last week, investors showed some relief when AT&T said in a Wall Street Journal story that it would push the phone heavily . Get the full story »
Feb. 3 at 3:24 p.m.
Filed under:
Earnings,
Retail
By Reuters
Sally Beauty Holdings Inc.’s quarterly results beat market expectations, as consumers continued to prefer doing their own make-up at home instead of heading to salons during the holiday season, lifting its shares over 16 percent. Get the full story »
Feb. 3 at 2:53 p.m.
Filed under:
Health care,
M&A,
Updated
By Bruce Japsen
Two large Chicago-area hospital operators are exploring a merger in a deal that could create the largest Catholic-owned health care system in Illinois, sources told the Tribune.
Chicago-based Resurrection Health Care, which operates six hospitals in Chicago and the suburbs, has signed a letter of intent to “explore merger” with Mokena-based Provena Health, which owns six hospitals in the suburbs and downstate. Get the full story »
Feb. 3 at 2:30 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Recalls
By Reuters
Ford Motor Co. is recalling nearly 363,000 F-150 pickup trucks in North America because of a potential problem with the interior door handles, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported Thursday.
Ford has recalled more vehicles in the first few weeks of this year — nearly 900,000 — than in all of 2010 when about 600,000 were recalled. Get the full story »
Feb. 3 at 2:23 p.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Investing,
Litigation
By Reuters
Top executives at JPMorgan Chase & Co. got blunt warnings about speculation that Bernard Madoff was running a Ponzi scheme but appear to have been concerned only with protecting the bank’s investments, the trustee seeking to recoup $6.4 billion for Madoff investors said. Get the full story »
Feb. 3 at 1:52 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Retail
By Reuters
January sales at major U.S. retailers blew past analysts’ expectations as shoppers braved snowstorms in an unexpected sign of consumer strength.
Some retailers, including Limited Brands Inc., Gap Inc., Aeropostale Inc. and TJX Cos., also raised their profit estimates for the holiday quarter, cheering investors worried about rising costs of cotton and other commodities. The Standard & Poor’s Retail index rose 1.1 percent. Get the full story »
Feb. 3 at 1:34 p.m.
Filed under:
Recalls
By Reuters
Around 460,000 air compressors sold by Sears and other stores are being recalled voluntarily because of a fire hazard, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Thursday.
Tennessee-based DeVilbiss Air Power Co., which makes the devices, has received nine reports of motors overheating. Three of those included fire damage to surrounding property. No injuries have been reported, the agency said in a statement. Get the full story »
Feb. 3 at 1:26 p.m.
Filed under:
Insurance
By Becky Yerak
First-quarter results of Northbrook-based Allstate Corp. and other property insurers are likely to include higher catastrophe losses due to the winter storms that have swept much of the country.
Winter storms are the third-biggest cause of catastrophe losses, behind hurricanes and tornadoes, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Get the full story »
Feb. 3 at 1:22 p.m.
Filed under:
Exchanges,
Investing
By Dow Jones Newswires
CME Group Inc. said Thursday that it would launch federal-funds futures contracts extending three years in a move expanding investor options for assessing longer-term Federal Reserve interest rate policy.
The world’s largest futures exchange by trading volume said it would add the third-year contracts to its existing slate, with a planned Feb. 27 launch of monthly fed-funds futures for February 2013 through January 2014. Get the full story »
Feb. 3 at 1:10 p.m.
Filed under:
Airlines,
Energy
By Dow Jones Newswires
A senior Delta Air Lines Inc. executive said Thursday that more fare increases are needed to counter escalating fuel costs as the airline pares plans to boost capacity this quarter.
Ed Bastian, president of the second-largest U.S. airline, said Delta had recouped half of the rise in jet fuel costs in the last two months through higher fares. Get the full story »
Feb. 3 at 12:45 p.m.
Filed under:
Mortgages,
Real estate
By Dow Jones Newswires
Mortgage rates were mostly unchanged the latest week, with the average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages barely edging up, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey.
“Mortgage rates held relatively stable this week on news that the economy improved and inflation remained in check at the end of 2010,” said Freddie Chief Economist Frank Nothaft. Get the full story »
Feb. 3 at 12:31 p.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Investing,
Litigation
By Reuters
TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. will reimburse about $10 million to customers to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges that it misled them about the safety of a money market mutual fund.
The SEC announced the settlement Thursday after accusing TD Ameritrade of failing to reasonably supervise sales representatives who mischaracterized the Reserve Yield Plus Fund as being as safe as cash or having guaranteed liquidity. Get the full story »
By Becky Yerak
The stock of $2.12 billion-asset Old Second Bancorp Inc. was down 16.6 percent in late morning trading as the troubled Aurora-based lender reported a fourth-quarter loss of $76.6 million, or $5.48 a share. Get the full story »
Feb. 3 at 11:31 a.m.
Filed under:
Credit Cards,
Earnings
By Dow Jones Newswires
MasterCard Inc.’s fourth-quarter profit soared 41 percent as cardholders ratcheted up spending at a record pace and the company processed more payments, spurring growth in revenue. Get the full story »
Feb. 3 at 11:21 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Jobs/employment,
Layoffs
By Associated Press
The U.S. service sector, which employs nearly 90 percent of America’s work force, grew in January at the fastest pace in five years. The report capped a string of data Thursday that pointed to an expanding economy and stronger hiring. Get the full story »
