The interim director of the Gary-Chicago International Airport says work on a $128 million project to move railroad tracks to make way for a runway extension should begin by July. Get the full story »
Illinois unemployment falls to 9.3% in December
From the Chicago Sun-Times | The unemployment rate in Illinois fell to 9.3 percent in December from 9.6 percent in November, the ninth straight decline. But the state lost 9,400 jobs over the month, the Illinois Department of Employment Security said Friday.
The rate is down from 11 percent in December 2009. Over the year, the state added 46,300 jobs. Get the full story>>
Caterpillar to spend $1B to boost China output
A top executive with Caterpillar Inc., the world’s largest maker of earth-moving construction and mining equipment, said Friday the company plans to spend more than $1 billion to increase its manufacturing capacity in China.
In an interview at an event tied to the U.S. visit this week of Chinese President Hu Jintao, Rich Lavin, a group president at Caterpillar, said his company’s current network of 11 Chinese plants was not enough to produce the “market-leading volumes” Caterpillar hopes to be producing by 2015. Get the full story »
Fed changes accounting rules to protect itself
Concerns that the Federal Reserve could suffer losses on its massive bond holdings may have driven the central bank to adopt a little-noticed accounting change with huge implications: it makes insolvency much less likely.
The significant shift was tucked quietly into the Fed’s weekly report on its balance sheet and phrased in such technical terms that it was not even reported by financial media when originally announced on Jan. 6. Get the full story »
Talk of a pending sale lifts Sara Lee stock
Crain’s Chicago Business | Shares in Sara Lee hit a 52-week high Friday on talk that the food company could be sold soon.
EPA approves wider use of ethanol in gas
U.S. regulators on Friday backed a request that would sharply boost the use of corn-based ethanol in more than half the nation’s cars, elevating the stakes in a contentious debate over the safety and cost of converting more corn into fuel.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s announcement boosting the ethanol blend rate in gasoline to 15 percent from 10 percent in vehicles built from 2001 to 2006 was not a surprise, coming just months after it allowed the E15 in cars and trucks built in 2007 or later. Get the full story »
Hospira to stop making drug used in executions
Scores of executions across the U.S. are expected to be delayed for what could be several months a Lake Forest drug company’s decision to stop making a key anesthetic used in putting inmates to death in 34 states.
Hospira Inc. – the sole producer of Pentothal – said Friday that it was unable to reach an agreement with European regulators on how to resume production and distribution of its brand version for the drug sodium thiopental, a key ingredient in a drug cocktail used in executions. Get the full story »
Jan. 21 at 1:43 p.m.
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Filed under: Advertising/Marketing, Beverages, Food, Packaged foods, Sports Busch again in lead on Super Bowl commercials
Anheuser-Busch said Friday it will feature five commercials in the broadcast of the 2011 Super Bowl.
The brewer also announced that it will be the exclusive beer advertiser for the Super Bowl for the 23rd consecutive year. Get the full story »
Google preparing to test Groupon fighter
Google Inc., after failing to acquire daily-deals Web site Groupon Inc., said it is preparing to test a competing service that offers deals to local businesses such as restaurants.
The Internet search giant, which on Thursday also announced that co-founder Larry Page would take over as chief executive from Eric Schmidt, didn’t release details about the new effort — Google Offers — that aims to grab a larger share of the small but growing online-ad market for local businesses. Get the full story »
For-profit colleges sue to block federal regulations
A group of for-profit schools filed a lawsuit against the federal government Friday to stop implementation of three costly new rules.
The rules were part of a larger package of new regulations being imposed on the for-profit sector, which has been accused of churning out poorly educated students with large debts. Get the full story »
China to seek FAA certification of passenger jet
China’s top aviation regulator said Friday that it aimed to work jointly with U.S. authorities on certifying the planned new C919 passenger jet.
The aircraft is seen as the first shot in China’s effort to break the duopoly in large civil aircraft held by Airbus and Boeing Co. and securing approval from overseas regulators will be crucial in finding customers outside the country’s fast-growing domestic market. Get the full story »
Only 11.9% of workers in a union
The nation’s labor unions saw another sharp decline in membership last year even as the economic recovery began and job losses slowed.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics says unions lost 612,000 members in 2010. That drops the unionized share of the work force to 11.9 percent from 12.3 percent in 2009.
Union membership in the private sector fell from 7.2 percent to 6.9 percent, a low point not seen since the infancy of the labor movement in the 1930s. The steepest decline was among construction workers. Get the full story »
Northern Trust CEO: Ill. must tackle spending
The chief executive of Chicago’s biggest homegrown bank says the city’s business community expected the state to hike taxes, but that the Illinois legislature needs to also quickly address spending that’s contributing to deep budget deficits.
Illinois’ corporate income tax rate recently rose from 4.8 percent to 7 percent. Earlier this week Northern Trust Corp. said it expects the tax hike to reduce its earnings by about $4 million a year. Get the full story »
Poll: Optimism on economy edges up
Less than a quarter of all Americans say the economy is in good shape, according to a new national poll. But the 24 percent who give the economy a thumbs-up in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Friday represents a six-point jump since November. Get the full story »
Demolition hearing next step for Algonquin project
Trib Local | No qualified bids were made for the Riverside Square development in Algonquin, so a demolition hearing is the next step for the unfinished project once owned by Amcore Bank.
