Jan. 14 at 4:19 p.m.
Filed under:
Energy,
Policy
By Julie Wernau
Commonwealth Edison Co. is pushing for legislation that would increase gas and electric bills according to a formula, rather than through the more complicated regulatory process used today.
The company said a more streamlined regulatory process would allow it to quickly and predictably recoup investments aimed at modernizing the electrical grid rather than having to wait the 11 months needed to decide a rate case. A similar proposal ComEd brought forward last year that did not include the state’s other utilities, flamed out with lawmakers.
Get the full story »
Jan. 14 at 4:00 p.m.
Filed under:
Investigations,
Litigation
By Ameet Sachdev
David Hernandez’s lifetime of lying has caught up to him, said a federal judge who sentenced the Downers Grove man Friday to more than 16 years in prison for swindling more than 250 people out of $6.4 million.
Hernandez, best known for starting an Internet-based sports talk show with radio personality Mike North, apologized to his fraud victims in a rambling, tearful statement to U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman. Hernandez pleaded for sympathy because he claims to suffer from mental illness brought on by childhood abuse. Get the full story »
Jan. 14 at 3:49 p.m.
Filed under:
Pharmaceuticals,
Recalls
By Dow Jones Newswires
Johnson & Johnson recalled nearly 47 million units of over-the-counter medicines Friday, the latest in a string of quality-related product recalls.
J&J said the latest recall resulted from a thorough examination of manufacturing records that the company had undertaken in the wake of earlier recalls. J&J plans to continue reviewing practices at additional plants and signaled further recalls could result. Get the full story »
Jan. 14 at 3:15 p.m.
Filed under:
Chicago executives
By Dow Jones Newswires
Deere & Co. said Friday that Chairman and Chief Executive Samuel Allen’s compensation for the company’s 2010 fiscal year almost tripled from the previous year.
Allen’s base salary, incentive pay, executive perks and awards of stock and options totaled $12.29 million for the year ended Oct. 31, up from $4.27 million a year earlier, according to a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Get the full story »
Jan. 14 at 2:31 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Entertainment,
Food,
Restaurants
By Reuters
Lady Gaga’s favorite Judas Priest burger will still cost $12 at Kuma’s Corner as the trendy Chicago eatery is resisting raising prices though the cost of making that burger has gone up.
“You can’t pass it on, not in times like this,” Kuma’s manager Frank DeBoss said of beef prices that recently rose 10 percent. Get the full story »
Jan. 14 at 2:20 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Government,
Housing,
Real estate
By Reuters
Federal Reserve officials worried in 2005 about the risks a housing bubble could pose to the U.S. economy but ended the year hopeful a steady round of interest-rate increases would keep the problem in check, transcripts released Friday showed.
The documents suggest the Fed, in hindsight, may have been too complacent about an overheated housing market that helped spark the worst U.S. financial crisis and deepest recession since the 1930s. Get the full story »
Jan. 14 at 2:09 p.m.
Filed under:
Jobs/employment,
Layoffs,
Media,
Newspapers
By Phil Rosenthal
Tower Ticker | Sun-Times Media’s Pioneer Press group of weekly suburban newspapers has continued to reduce its workforce, including elimination of nine editorial positions in recent days.
Eight newsroom staff members were let go, while another retired and will not be replaced, sources said. Five were reporters and the retiree was an editorial assistant. The others were said to include page designers and a Web content manager.
Jeremy Halbreich, chief executive and vice chairman of Sun-Times Media, was unavailable for immediate comment.
Jan. 14 at 1:52 p.m.
Filed under:
Defense,
Government,
Technology
By Reuters
President Barack Obama’s administration plans to pull the plug on the troubled “virtual fence” project meant to better guard stretches of the U.S. border with Mexico, a senior lawmaker said Friday.
The project, being run by Boeing Co., has cost about $1 billion to pull together video cameras, radar, sensors and other technologies to detect smugglers trying to cross the porous border. Get the full story »
Jan. 14 at 1:35 p.m.
Filed under:
Beverages,
Food
By Dow Jones Newswires-Wall Street Journal
MillerCoors LLC plans to launch a lemonade-flavored version of low-calorie beer MGD 64, the latest effort by a big U.S. brewer to rejuvenate sales.
MillerCoors, the second-largest U.S. beer maker by revenue, will introduce MGD 64 Lemonade as a limited-edition summer brand in May. Get the full story »
By Julie Johnsson
Breaking with its rating agency peers, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said Friday that the city of Chicago’s ambitious plan to expand O’Hare International Airport is “sound.”
Standard & Poor’s affirmed its current ratings, ranging from “AA” to “A-,” on about $6 billion of current O’Hare debt and assigned an “A-” rating to about $1.1 billion in bonds the city plans to issue in early February. Get the full story »
Jan. 14 at 12:43 p.m.
Filed under:
Pharmaceuticals,
Recalls
By Dow Jones Newswires
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Sanofi-Aventis SA have recalled about 64 million tablets of hypertension drug Avalide because a manufacturing problem could affect the drug’s efficacy.
It is the second significant recall of Avalide in recent months. In September, Bristol and Sanofi recalled about 60 million tablets. Get the full story »
By Associated Press
News Corp. is pushing back the launch of the world’s first iPad-only newspaper.
The company declined to comment on why. But a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Friday that News Corp. and iPad maker Apple Inc. have decided to delay the launch while they work on the technology involved in providing subscriptions. Get the full story »
Jan. 14 at 11:44 a.m.
Filed under:
Policy,
Politics
By Reuters
The Treasury on Friday said it completed a massive recapitalization of bailed out insurer American International Group, paying off the New York Federal Reserve Bank and giving the U.S. government a 92 percent equity stake in the company. Get the full story »
Jan. 14 at 10:59 a.m.
Filed under:
Pharmaceuticals,
Stock activity,
Updated
By Bruce Japsen
Abbott Laboratories this morning said it will hold off seeking U.S. approval of an experimental psoriasis treatment following feedback from federal regulators who have concerns about the drug.
Abbott would not disclose exactly what the concerns of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are. The agency, however, has in recent years stepped up its scrutiny of the safety and efficacy of drugs and increasingly orders more study in clinical trials, particularly for safety risks to the heart.
The news hit the company’s stock. The price of Abbott’s shares lost 1 percent of their value or 49 cents, dipping to $46.88 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Get the full story »
