Major earnings: Bank of America Corp.; General Electric;
Deals to boost Illinois soybean sales to China
China’s growing appetite for Illinois soybeans was on display Thursday at a ceremonial signing of purchase agreements that could trigger as much as $450 million in Illinois soy sales to Chinese companies this year.
The potential sales represent a hefty slice of business for Illinois farms and soy operations, which have seen agricultural exports to China grow in recent years to more than $500 million annually, from $149 million in 2007, according to data from Gov. Pat Quinn’s office. Get the full story »
Love, and itemized tax returns, to be in air Feb. 14
The Internal Revenue Service announced Thursday that Feb. 14 — Valentine’s Day — will be the first day it will accept all itemized tax returns.
Late last year, the IRS said it would need extra time to reprogram its processing systems because Congress acted so late this year in cleaning up the tax code. Get the full story »
U.S. auditors: AIG could repay taxpayers in full
Government auditors say taxpayers might be repaid in full for the bailout of insurance giant American International Group Inc.
The Government Accountability Office said in a report Thursday that the final cost of the rescue depends increasingly on the strength of AIG’s business and its stock price. Get the full story »
HomeGoods coming to Magnificent Mile
HomeGoods is joining the growing array of discount chains on the Magnificent Mile.
The off-price home furnishings chain, long expected to set up shop on the boulevard, signed a lease to opened a 25,503-square-foot store on the third level of 600 N. Michigan Ave., according to Oakbrook Terrace-based Mid-America Real Estate Group. The store is slated to open late this summer. Get the full story »
Ads coming to bathroom mirrors at O’Hare
Is no place sacred?
Just when you thought it was safe to wash your hands and check for things between your teeth in peace, an offshoot of Clear Channel Communications Inc. has found a way to serve up advertising in the bathroom mirror.
The mirrors in your home are still off limits (for now anyway) but a unit of Clear Channel Outdoor said Thursday that had teamed up with a North Carolina company called Mirrus to turn select bathroom mirrors at O’Hare International Airport into interactive billboards. Get the full story »
Verizon challenges FCC’s ‘network neutrality’ rules
Verizon Communications Inc. on Thursday filed a legal challenge to new federal regulations that prohibit broadband providers from interfering with Internet traffic flowing over their networks.
In a filing in federal appeals court in the District of Columbia, Verizon argues that the Federal Communications Commission overstepped its authority in adopting the “network neutrality” rules last month. Get the full story »
McDonald’s, Vermont settle syrup dispute
McDonald’s Big Macs and Chicken McNuggets are served the world over, but only in Vermont can diners at the fast-food giant now get pure maple syrup with their oatmeal.
Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin announced Thursday that McDonald’s USA has agreed to offer pure Vermont maple syrup or sugar with its Fruit and Maple Oatmeal menu item, beginning in February. Get the full story »
JBS is back in the hunt for Sara Lee, source says
A group of companies led by Brazilian beef processor JBS has arranged a financing package to bid for all or parts of Sara Lee Corp. , a source with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters Thursday.
The group won commitments from international banks for loans and could tap equity markets to complete the funding package, said the source, who declined to be cited by name. Get the full story »
4 HP directors step down amid Hurd controversy
Four members of Hewlett-Packard’s board of directors are stepping down six months after CEO Mark Hurd was forced to resign in the wake of a sexual harassment scandal.
The departures come as Hewlett-Packard Co., the world’s biggest technology company by revenue, is under fire for its handling of Hurd’s ouster and the size of his severance payout.
Google reports strong earnings, new CEO
Google Inc. said Thursday that co-founder Larry Page will take charge of day-to-day operations as chief executive starting April 4.
Current CEO Eric Schmidt will become executive chairman. Get the full story »
Jan. 20 at 3:12 p.m.
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Filed under: Commercial real estate, Real estate, Retail, Stock activity Sears gets boost from Dillard’s move to form REIT
Shares of department-store operators climbed Thursday as investors made bets on which retailers may follow Dillard’s Inc. in its plan to form a real-estate investment trust.
Dillard’s said in a regulatory filing late Wednesday it believes the formation of a REIT may enhance its ability to access debt or preferred stock and improve its liquidity. The retailer said it plans to transfer interests in certain properties to the REIT and will then lease back the properties. Get the full story »
Chicago home sales down just 0.5% in 2010
Sales of existing homes in the Chicago area rose appreciably in December from the previous month but were still down almost 10 percent from their year-ago comparison, the Illinois Association of Realtors reported Thursday.
For the year though, thanks to a tax credit that helped sales during the first six months, Chicago-area sales of single-family homes and condos were down only 0.5 percent from 2009, to 69,010 homes sold last year. The median price of $185,000 in 2010 was a 5.6 percent drop from the previous year but the declines in median price varied widely across the area. Get the full story »
Poll: Health care reform becoming more appealing
Americans may becoming more comfortable with the health care overhaul law.
An unofficial online poll of participants in a Tribune Web chat Thursday showed that two-thirds, or 66 percent, like the legislation better now than when it was first passed by Congress and signed into law last spring by President Barack Obama. Get the full story »
Downstate Mitsubishi plant to build new vehicle
Mitsubishi Motors says its plant in Normal will remain open and begin producing a new model soon.
Dan Irvin, a spokesman for the Japanese auto manufacturer, said Thursday that the company will wait several weeks to release the details about the new model, when it will go into production and what that will mean for staffing at the plant.
The plant employs 1,100 people and is one of the largest employers in the Bloomington-Normal area.
Union workers there earlier this year agreed to wage concessions the company said it needed to keep the plant open.
Irvin said the four models now produced at the plant will be phased out. Those are the Galant, Eclipse and Spyder and the Endeavor sport-utility vehicle.
