Jan. 12 at 5:01 p.m.
Filed under:
Chicago executives,
Food,
Personnel moves
By Emily Bryson York
Kraft Foods has chosen Sam Rovit to be its executive vice president of strategy. He replaces Michael Osanloo, who is now Kraft’s president of North American grocery.
Starting Jan. 29, Rovit will head Kraft’s strategy team, which works with the company’s various business units, to emphasize growth and savings targets. The team is also charged with improving performance in the company’s brands and its sales in the channels where they are sold, like supermarkets or gas stations.
As a member of Kraft’s executive team, he will report directly to chairman and CEO Irene Rosenfeld. Get the full story »
Jan. 12 at 4:39 p.m.
Filed under:
Policy,
Politics,
Taxes
By Reuters
Caterpillar is one of Illinois' biggest employers. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman, file)
Illinois companies hit by an extended economic downturn say the state’s proposed remedy to its own financial crisis — a beefy tax increase — will deplete investment in local businesses, trigger job losses and force companies to leave the state.
The state is home to some of the biggest and best-known U.S. companies, including three components of the Dow Jones industrial average — Boeing, Caterpillar and McDonald’s.
An income tax increase that passed the Illinois Legislature Wednesday would raise the individual income tax rate temporarily to 5 percent from 3 percent and the corporate tax rate to 7 percent from 4.8 percent. Get the full story »
Jan. 12 at 4:16 p.m.
Filed under:
Pharmaceuticals
By Reuters
Eli Lilly & Co failed to win support from a U.S. advisory panel Wednesday for what aims to be the first drug not made from pig enzymes to help certain pancreatic patients digest food. The drug was designed to compete with Abbott Labs’ drug Creon, among others. Get the full story »
By Dow Jones Newswires
Investors in Verizon Communications Inc. have been betting big on the company’s newly announced deal to sell Apple Inc.’s iPhone product — pushing the stock to some of its highest valuation levels in the past decade.
That has sparked debate on Wall Street about how economically beneficial the device will be to the carrier, despite widespread projections calling for the sale of 10 million units or more this year.
In particular, the iPhone likely will be heavily dilutive to Verizon’s earnings this year, given the subsidies the carrier will have to shell out to Apple for the device. Get the full story »
Jan. 12 at 3:44 p.m.
Filed under:
Investing
From Bloomberg | In a prospectus filed today with the SEC, Nuveen Investments, the asset manager owned by Madison Dearborn Partners, said it plans to start a fund to buy corporate debt.
Jan. 12 at 2:36 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Government,
Taxes
By Associated Press
The federal budget deficit narrowed slightly in December from a year earlier, but the deficit for the entire year is still on pace to exceed $1 trillion.
The government ran a deficit of $80 billion last month, down 12.4 percent from the previous December, the Treasury Department said Wednesday. Through the first three months of the current budget year, the deficit totals $370.8 billion, an improvement of 3.1 percent a year earlier. Get the full story »
Jan. 12 at 2:17 p.m.
Filed under:
Cell phones,
Wireless
From The Wall Street Journal | One day after announcing it will start selling an iPhone, Verizon confirms that it is ending its program that allows subscribers to upgrade their phones every two years. The carrier also is ending its early upgrade policy, starting next week.
By Sandra M. Jones
The Kardashian sisters are launching a line of clothing at Sears as the moderate department store chain continues to revamp its women’s apparel business.
The clothing line, called the Kardashian Kollection, is set to arrive in August at 400 Sears stores nationwide. The brand is exclusive to Sears, Roebuck and Co., a unit of Hoffman Estates-based Sears Holdings Corp. Get the full story »
By CNN
Economic growth continued to expand moderately the last few weeks, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.
In its latest snapshot of regional economic conditions, the Fed reported that manufacturing, retail and non-financial services sectors were strong in most regions. Get the full story »
Jan. 12 at 1:25 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Housing,
Real estate
By Associated Press
Housing experts say U.S. home sales and construction should rise sharply this year, but the increases hinge on the economy adding more jobs.
Two economists delivered their forecast Wednesday at the International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Fla. Get the full story »
Jan. 12 at 1:20 p.m.
Filed under:
Consumer news
By CNN
After some disciplined belt-tightening, shoppers who enjoyed a splurge over the holidays seem ready to buy more than just T-shirts and socks in 2011.
MasterCard Worldwide found that 61 percent of shoppers surveyed in mid-December said they don’t plan to cut back on spending in 2011, even after their holiday bills come due. Get the full story »
By Reuters
U.S. manufacturer ITT Corp. plans to split itself into three companies to take advantage of the growing water and industrial markets as its defense unit prepares for U.S. military spending cuts.
Its shares rose 18 percent Wednesday, reaching their highest point since the fall of 2008. Get the full story »
Jan. 12 at 12:47 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
International
By Reuters
Euro zone countries are working on a “comprehensive package” to solve the bloc’s debt crisis, which could be approved by February or March, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Wednesday.
“We can’t just solve the problems over the short term — if there are short-term problems — but also over the mid-term,” Schaeuble told reporters, adding that euro zone states were trying to reach agreement on a “comprehensive package.” Get the full story »
Jan. 12 at 12:37 p.m.
Filed under:
China,
Government,
International,
Markets,
Trade
By CNN
China is allowing U.S. currency traders to have a crack at its tightly controlled currency, the yuan, but analysts say the move will have more impact on international politics than markets.
“It’s a peace offering to the rest of the world,” said Dean Popplewell, chief currency strategist at the Toronto office of the Oanda Corp., a currency trading services company. Get the full story »
Jan. 12 at 12:26 p.m.
Filed under:
Internet,
Media,
Telecommunications
By Associated Press
Amber Alerts, which have helped find 525 missing children since their start in 1996, are coming to Facebook. Get the full story »
