The federal government recovered a record total of more than $2.5 billion from health care fraud last year, according to a government report issued Monday.
Results reflect both the continuing array of efforts to swindle the government Medicare program and a stepped-up effort by law enforcement to combat them, officials said. Get the full story »
U.S. consumers started drinking more higher-end spirits last year, leading the industry to see signs of a fragile recovery.
Liquor companies sold 190.7 million nine-liter cases in the United States in 2010, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States trade group. That was up 2 percent from 2009, when a recession crimped consumers’ drinking habits. Get the full story »
Hiring for construction jobs may be on the rise this year, after a severe downturn in the industry in 2010, and Illinois may be among the states where hiring is likely to improve.
A new study released Monday showed that 27 percent of construction firms nationally said they planned to add staff this year, while 20 percent plan layoffs. Get the full story »
U.S. Bank is one of the last of the megabanks to offer free checking. But that may be about to end.
The Minneapolis-based bank recently hinted that it will add fees to its checking accounts — and even possibly to its debit cards — as it attempts to recoup revenue lost under new regulations. Get the full story »
Attorneys for creditors who oppose the Tribune Co.’s proposed reorganization plan are seeking more information related to the 2007 leveraged buyout that left the media conglomerate saddled with debt. Get the full story »
A Northbrook-based maker of an oral testosterone product is planning an initial public offering of 5 million of its shares at an expected price of $11 to $13 a share, according to a filing Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Get the full story »
McDonald’s Corp. will raise prices in the U.S. this year to combat rising commodity costs, the company said in its fourth-quarter earnings call Monday morning.
The Oak Brook-based burger chain estimates that ingredient costs will rise 2 percent to 2.5 percent, with some of those costs passed on to consumers. Get the full story »
The Internal Tax Revenue introduced its first smart phone app on Monday, called IRS2Go, which allows taxpayers to check the status of their refunds and find other tax information.
IRS2Go is a step toward “modernizing the agency and engaging taxpayers where they want when they want it,” the IRS said a press release. Get the full story »
The costs of heart disease in the United States will triple between now and 2030 to more than $800 billion a year, a report commissioned by the American Heart Association predicted Monday.
Treating high blood pressure will be the most expensive part of the cost, rising to $389 billion by 2030, the report projects, with overall heart disease rising by 10 percent by then.
Elite Street | By Bob Goldsborough | Former Tribune Co. Chief Executive Randy Michaels has listed his 31st-floor, penthouse condominium unit in Streeterville for $989,000.
Tribune Co. Chairman Sam Zell named Michaels, whose real name is Benjamin Homel, to the company’s executive team in December 2007 and promoted him to CEO in late 2009. Michaels resigned under pressure in October, after weeks of escalating allegations that he and some associates that he had recruited had tarnished the company with boorish, sexist behavior. Get the full story »
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that a federal law barring retaliation against a worker for complaints about on-the-job discrimination also protected the employee’s relative from unlawful dismissal.
The high court unanimously ruled for Eric Thompson, who was fired from his job at a stainless steel manufacturing plant in Kentucky after his fiancee, who also worked there, filed a discrimination complaint. Get the full story »
CVS Caremark Corp. said Monday that Larry Merlo will take the reins as the drugstore chain operator’s chief executive in March, two months earlier than expected.
Merlo, who is CVS’ chief operating officer, will become CEO March 1, replacing Thomas Ryan. He had been expected to become CEO in May, according to a succession plan laid out last year. The company did not explain why Merlo’s start date had been moved up. Get the full story »
Though the company moved its headquarters to 222 N. LaSalle St. in 2009, this iconic structure is still known as the Smurfit-Stone Building. (Tribune/Lane Christiansen)
Smurfit-Stone Container Corp., whose local roots trace back to 1926, will leave Chicago behind as a headquarters now that the company has announced plans to be acquired by RockTenn Co. in a $3.5 billion cash and stock deal.
While specific plans for each of Smurfit-Stone’s Chicago-area plants are unclear, those facilities that remain are likely to receive additional technology investment, RockTenn executives indicated Monday. However, Smurfit-Stone’s dual headquarters concept in downtown Chicago and Creve Coeur, Mo., will end and the combined company will be based in RockTenn’s Norcross, Ga., hometown. Get the full story »
