Feb. 1 at 10:31 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Manufacturing
By Reuters
The threat that rising input prices pose to corporate profit margins was highlighted again as a number of U.S. manufacturers, including Emerson Electric Co and Paccar Inc, reported quarterly earnings.
Earlier this week, Illinois Tool Works, which makes a variety of products for the automotive, residential construction, and industrial marketplace, warned it might not be able to fully recoup all the raw material price increases it is seeing — even though it expects to raise prices this year. Get the full story »
Feb. 1 at 9:50 a.m.
Filed under:
Earnings,
Energy,
Food,
Updated
By Reuters
U.S. agricultural processor and ethanol producer Archer Daniels Midland Co reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings on Tuesday as rising grain prices and robust global demand bolstered results, sending its shares up 6.3 percent in premarket trading.
For the fiscal second quarter ended Dec. 31, net profit was $732 million, or $1.14 per share, compared with $567 million, or 88 cents per share, a year earlier. Get the full story »
Feb. 1 at 8:36 a.m.
Filed under:
Health care,
Retail
By Bruce Japsen
Walgreens said it will allocate $100 million over the next four years to providing medical tests and preventive medical services as the Deerfield-based pharmacy giant continues to establish itself as a national provider of health care. Get the full story »
By Ameet Sachdev
Ventas Inc., a Chicago-based real estate investment trust, plans to offer 5.5 million shares in a public offering to raise money to repay existing mortgage debt and for other purposes, the company said Tuesday. Get the full story »
Feb. 1 at 7:43 a.m.
Filed under:
Health care,
Hospitals,
Insurance
By Bruce Japsen
Reducing costly re-admissions to hospitals is the goal of a new initiative being rolled out this year by Illinois’ largest health insurer and the state’s hospital lobby.
By 2014, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois and the Illinois Hospital Association say they hope to reduce re-admissions by 33 percent. In 2009 there were more than 50,000 re-admissions to the approximately 200 hospitals in the state. Get the full story »
Feb. 1 at 7:05 a.m.
Filed under:
Earnings,
Energy
By Dow Jones Newswires
NiSource Inc.’s fourth-quarter earnings fell 63 percent amid early debt-extinguishment losses as the regional utility reported higher-than-expected revenue.
The Midwest and Northeast electricity and natural gas utility has benefitted from cost cutting and improving demand in some of its markets last year. Its industrial volume received a boost as the manufacturing sector rebounded last year. Get the full story »
Feb. 1 at 6:56 a.m.
Filed under:
Pharmaceuticals
By Associated Press
Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. says U.S. health officials have declined to approve the experimental weight loss pill Contrave and want the company to conduct an additional study.
The Food and Drug Administration request suggests the agency may yet approve the drug, which analysts have viewed as the most promising of three new diet pills recently submitted to the agency. But the FDA has asked for an additional study to address potential heart safety issues. Get the full story »
Feb. 1 at 6:49 a.m.
Filed under:
Earnings,
Energy
By Dow Jones Newswires
BP PLC Tuesday resumed its corporate dividend and deepened strategic changes. But the company’s earnings came in below expectations, as BP signaled that short-term oil and gas volumes would continue to drop. Get the full story »
Feb. 1 at 6:44 a.m.
Filed under:
Computers,
Recalls
By Dow Jones Newswires
Samsung Electronics Co., South Korea’s largest electronics maker, said it will give refunds for its desktop and laptop computers sold locally and in the U.S. with faulty chips from Intel Corp.
Six models sold in the local market and one model in the U.S. can be returned for refunds or exchanges, James Chung, a Samsung spokesman, said by telephone today. About 2,000 to 3,000 units of those models probably have been sold since sales began last month, he said. Get the full story »
Feb. 1 at 6:35 a.m.
Filed under:
Exchanges
By Dow Jones Newswires
Electronic trading in natural-gas futures and options on the New York Mercantile Exchange was halted for about a half hour Monday due to technical issues, CME Group Inc.
Electronic trading on the benchmark U.S. natural-gas contract was halted at 1:11 p.m. EST, said CME, which operates the Nymex. Trading on the exchange’s Globex electronic platform resumed at 1:45 p.m. EST following a 15-minute pre-open session, CME said. Get the full story »
Feb. 1 at 5:53 a.m.
Filed under:
M&A
By Dow Jones Newswires
Illinois Tool Works Inc. expects business acquisitions in 2011 to bring the company $800 million to $1 billion a year in additional revenue, nearly double the amount from 2010.
Chairman and Chief Executive David Speer said the company’s pipeline of potential acquisitions steadily improved throughout 2010, allowing the company to step up its acquisition goal for 2011. Last year, the company bought 24 companies with combined annual revenues of $530 million. Prior to 2009, ITW had been averaging $1 billion a year in acquired revenue. But the economic recession soured the market for acquisitions. Get the full story »
Feb. 1 at 5:30 a.m.
Filed under:
Reports: ISM manufacturing index for January, 9 a.m.; Construction spending for December, 9 a.m.; Automakers release vehicle sales for January.
Major earnings: ADM, Boston Scientific Corp., Electronic Arts Inc., Massey Energy Co., Pfizer Inc., UPS Inc.
Jan. 31 at 4:36 p.m.
Filed under:
Housing,
Mortgages,
Real estate
By Mary Ellen Podmolik
The number of delinquent Chicago-area borrowers in permanent mortgage loan modifications fell in December for the first time since the government started its program to help troubled consumers keep their homes.
According to Treasury Department data released Monday, 27,121 local borrowers have received permanent loan modifications since the Home Affordable Modification Program began 21 months ago, compared with 27,176 in November. Get the full story »
Jan. 31 at 4:11 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
International
By Reuters
Gold fell on Monday, notching its first monthly decline in six months, as strong U.S. factory and spending data coupled with fading worries about the euro zone debt crisis put a damper on the metal’s rally. Get the full story »
Jan. 31 at 3:11 p.m.
Filed under:
Technology
From The New York Times DealBook | Facebook is introducing its discount shopping service to five European countries and Canada as part of its push to help brands communicate with its users.
