The World Trade Organization will issue a confidential final ruling Jan. 31 concerning European claims that Boeing benefited from unfair aircraft subsidies, sources familar with the case said on Friday.
The report, which will not be made public for several weeks, is the latest round of legal Ping-Pong between the European Union and United States over mutual claims their aircraft industries have been unfairly shielded from competition. Get the full story »
Saab is recalling 4,400 passenger cars to fix fuel pumps that could seize and cause the engine to stall.
Saab said the recall affects certain 2010 and 2011 9-3 sedans built from June through October of 2010. The company says some of the fuel pumps may have had components with incorrect specifications. Get the full story »
New York Times | An effort is under way to allow financially troubled states, such as Illinois, to file for bankruptcy and escape massive debt, including pensions for retired workers.
U.S. stocks opened higher Friday, bouncing back after two days of declines, as strong earnings from General Electric Co. and Google Inc. lifted investor hopes.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 64.63 points, or 0.55 percent, at 11,887.43. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 7.15 points, or 0.56 percent, at 1,287.41. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 14.80 points, or 0.55 percent, at 2,719.09.
NovaMed Inc., a Chicago-based operator of ambulatory surgery centers, said Friday that it has agreed to be acquired for $214 million by a Florida company called Surgery Center Holdings Inc.
Surgery Center, based in Tampa, is an affiliate of a Miami-based private equity firm, HIG Capital. The price includes assumption of $105 million in debt. Get the full story »
Bucyrus International said shareholders approved a proposed $7.6 billion takeover offer from Caterpillar Inc., Reuters reported Friday on its Web site.
Almost 74 percent of holders of total outstanding shares of Bucyrus common stock voted Thursday to approve the deal, Bucyrus said.
Bucyrus, a manufacturer of mining equipment, said both companies expect the deal to be completed by mid-year.
A French court fined Warner Music Group Chairman and CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. 5 million euro ($6.7 million) on Friday for misleading investors about the Vivendi media conglomerate when he was a top executive there.
The court also convicted former high-flying Vivendi CEO Jean-Marie Messier of misusing company funds and misleading investors and handed him a three-year suspended prison sentence. Get the full story »
US Airways says it has signed a deal with Expedia that will keep its flights and fares on the online booking site, less than a month after Expedia pulled American Airlines fares. Get the full story »
Bloomberg News | The federal commission that has been investigating the meltdown in the financial industry is set to release reports with three different conclusions next week.
Vivus Inc. said Friday the Food and Drug Administration has asked the drug developer to assess the feasibility of a study on whether an ingredient in the weight-loss drug Qnexa causes birth defects.
The request represents another setback for the drug intended to treat obesity. Vivus and rival Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. had their diet drugs rejected by the agency in October, as competitor Orexigen Therapeutics Inc.’s weight-loss drug Contrave continued to move through the approval process. Get the full story »
Apple Inc. is giving a whole new meaning to locking your phone with its new screws.
In line with its infamous philosophy of maintaining absolute control over its products, sources said U.S. Apple stores are replacing screws on iPhone 4s brought for servicing with tamper-proof screws to prevent anyone else from opening the device. Get the full story »
Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt, who is stepping down in April, is planning to sell 534,000 shares in the company over the next year in a cash-out move that could be worth about $335 million.
Schmidt has been CEO at Google for the last decade. But in April he’ll be replaced by Larry Page, the company’s co-founder.
Word of Schmidt’s plan to sell a portion of his holdings in the Web search giant came in a regulatory filing alongside Google’s fourth-quarter earnings report, both submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
General Electric Co., reported better-than-expected earnings, helped by the recovery of its finance arm and a rise in revenue at its industrial units, including a sharp pickup in sales of locomotives.
The world’s biggest maker of electric turbines and jet engines also reported a 12 percent increase in orders, driving its backlog — a key predictor of future sales — to $175 billion. Get the full story »
Bank of America Corp., the largest U.S. bank by assets, reported a second straight quarterly loss, driven by a $2 billion writedown of its mortgage business. Get the full story »
Tower Ticker | The big surprise in the first edition of “Ebert Presents at the Movies” is that it’s Ignatiy Vishnevetsky who shines brightest.
Yeah. That guy. The one with the name stands to make a name for himself, assuming his cohorts up their game enough to make this public broadcasting bid to bring intelligence to TV talk of current and classic films a success.
Tune in at 8:30 tonight on WTTW-Ch. 11. You’ll see. The first impression is that Vishnevetsky, the largely unknown 24-year-old that Roger Ebert plucked from the Lake Street screening room, comes across far more naturally than any of the others Ebert has recruited to bring new life to the concept that he and the late Gene Siskel introduced in 1975.
Christy Lemire, the Associated Press film critic who shares the balcony set at WTTW with Vishnevetsky, may not be reading from a script all the time, but that’s how it seems when she should sound like she’s simply having a discussion.
