A Portland, Ore.-based steelmaker seeking quicker access to its far-flung customers announced this afternoon that it will move its headquarters to the Aon Center in late June.
Evraz Inc. NA, the North American subsidiary of Russian steel behemoth Evraz Group, expects to employ more than 70 workers on the 78th floor, including an as-yet-undetermined number of Portland transplants. Get the full story »
Leisure travel is recovering from the recession, but at a slower pace than business travel, according to a company that makes reservations for travel agents and Web sites.
Monthly revenue from leisure travel hotel reservations through June will rise an average of 14 percent from a year earlier on average, according to Pegasus Solutions Inc. Get the full story »
U.S. health officials are investigating an increase rise in reports of a type of seizure after vaccination with a Sanofi-Aventis SA flu vaccine, the Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday. Get the full story »
(Heather Charles/Tribune)
Wireless carrier AT&T said Thursday it has beefed up its network at Soldier Field in advance of Sunday’s highly anticipated NFC Championship Game between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers. Get the full story »
Time is running out at Southern California’s last major conventional aircraft factory.
Citing declining orders for its C-17 cargo planes, Boeing Co. said it was cutting 900 of the 3,700 jobs at its sprawling Long Beach plant. Barring congressional intervention or a spate of foreign orders — which analysts say is unlikely — the factory is expected to shut down completely by the end of next year.
AP reports that the aerospace giant also is cutting 200 additional jobs in Arizona, Georgia and Missouri in light of the declining demand. Get the full story >>
Chicago-based investment firm William Blair & Co. said it plans to acquire certain assets of Guidance Capital LLC, a hedge fund management firm, in a deal expected to be completed this quarter.
Terms weren’t disclosed. Get the full story »
Wal-Mart on Thursday unveiled a five-year plan to sell more nutritional food at a Washington news conference that included First Lady Michelle Obama.
The plan includes reducing sodium by 25 percent in grain products, lunch meats, salad dressing and frozen food. Get the full story »
U.S. regulators adopted new rules Thursday that seek to give investors better information before they choose asset-backed securities, a market that’s still struggling to recover from the financial crisis. Get the full story »
PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s fourth-quarter profit dropped 26 percent after a big year-earlier gain, but adjusted earnings topped analysts’ expectations as revenue fell less than expected.
The bank continued to bolster its bottom line by setting aside less to cover potential loan losses. Many peers have also made that move amid improving credit quality. PNC grew during the banking crisis by purchasing troubled rivals — such as its acquisition of Ohio’s National City in late 2008 for $2 billion. Get the full story »
Rates on the 30-year fixed mortgages rose slightly this week, following increases in Treasury yields. Freddie Mac says the average rate rose to 4.74 percent this week from 4.71 percent the previous week. It hit a 40-year low of 4.17 percent in November. Get the full story »
Chicago-based private equity firm Adams Street Partners has led an $8.6 million equity funding round for Five9 Inc., a Pleasanton, Calif.-based maker of cloud-computing software for call centers. Get the full story »
From Hollywood studios to Japanese TV makers, powerful business interests are betting 3-D will be the future of entertainment, despite a major drawback: It makes millions of people uncomfortable or sick.
Optometrists say as many as one in four viewers have problems watching 3-D movies and TV, either because 3-D causes tiresome eyestrain or because the viewer has problems perceiving depth in real life. In the worst cases, 3-D makes people queasy, leaves them dizzy or gives them headaches. Get the full story »
Lake Forest-based IDEX Corp., which makes the “Jaws of Life” rescue device, announced its second acquisition of the month Thursday when it said it will spend $32 million to buy Advanced Thin Films LLC, a maker of optical components and coatings based in Boulder, Colo. Get the full story »
Bucyrus International Inc. and Caterpillar Inc. received requests from the Department of Justice for additional information regarding the latter’s proposed $7.6 billion acquisition of the mining-equipment company. Get the full story »
U.S. initial jobless claims fell more than expected last week and showed their biggest decline since February, in a hopeful sign for the U.S. labor market. The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits dropped sharply to 404,000 from a downwardly revised reading of 441,000 in the prior week, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Get the full story »
