The Conference Board’s measure of CEO confidence bounced back in the final quarter of 2010 with more than half of chief executives anticipating improving economic conditions in the next six months.
The CEO confidence measure jumped to 62 in the fourth quarter, after falling in the third quarter to 50. A reading of more than 50 points reflects more positive responses than negative responses. Get the full story »
Businesses at the wholesale level trimmed their stockpiles in November for the first time in nearly a year, even though sales rose for a fifth consecutive month.
The popular TV show “Glee” is coming out with a nail polish of its own, Women’s Wear Daily reported Tuesday.
Sephora plans to introduce a limited edition nail color collection in its stores in February under the beauty retailer’s Sephora by OPI brand, Robert Marick, executive vice president of Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products told the retail trade magazine in an interview. Get the full story »
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. said it has signed a deal to license Zinfandel Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s technology as a way to one day target and potentially treat Alzheimer’s disease with Takeda’s diabetes pill Actos. Get the full story »
Fort Wayne withheld $200,000 in payments to Navistar International Corp. after the company relocating operations to suburban Chicago did not provide job data. Get the full story »
Even at times of high unemployment in the past, wages have been very slow to fall, but not in this recession. To an extent rarely seen since the Great Depression, wages for a swath of the U.S. labor force this time have taken a sharp and swift fall.
Many laid-off workers who have found new jobs are taking pay cuts or settling for part-time work when they get new ones, sometimes taking jobs far below their skill levels.
Economists had wondered how far this dynamic would go in this recession, and now the numbers are starting to show it: Between 2007 and 2009, more than half the full-time workers who lost jobs that they had held for at least three years and then found new full-time work by early last year reported wage declines, according to the Labor Department. Thirty-six percent reported the new job paid at least 20 percent less than the one they lost. Get the full story »
Supervalu Inc., the third-biggest U.S. supermarket chain, posted quarterly results below Wall Street estimates and lowered its forecast for the year, sending its shares down nearly 8 percent in premarket trading.
The company, which also operates Jewel-Osco and Albertsons stores, said in October that it was preparing new price cuts to win back customers lost to rivals like Kroger Co and Safeway Inc. The promotions did not work as expected, Chief Executive Officer Craig Herkert said. Get the full story »
Northbrook-based Idex Corp. will acquire Microfluidics International Corp., a maker of equipment used by pharmaceutical and chemical companies to make tiny materials, for about $14 million. Get the full story »
ELITE STREET | By Bob Goldsborough | The 11-room Lakeview mansion that Grammy-winning R&B singer R. Kelly once owned underwent a significant price cut on Monday, from $3.89
million to $3.5 million. Get the full story »
Mobile broadband subscriptions are on track to surpass 1 billion in 2011 only months after reaching half a billion, Ericsson said on Tuesday, highlighting a key growth driver for the telecom sector.
“During the course of 2010, a significant milestone in terms of mobile broadband subscriptions was reached as their number surpassed the half-a-billion mark globally,” Ericsson, the world’s biggest mobile network gear maker, said in a statement. “Ericsson estimates that this number will double before 2011 ends.” Get the full story »
Verizon Wireless is expected to announce Tuesday that it will start selling a version of Apple Inc.’s iPhone, ending AT&T Inc.’s exclusive relationship with Apple.
A version of the iPhone for Verizon’s network has been long expected, and Verizon Wireless has invited the press to an event at 10 a.m. Get the full story »
Sears Holdings Corp. expects its fourth-quarter and full-year adjusted earnings to top Wall Street’s expectations.
The results would be welcomed at the struggling retailer, which saw its third-quarter loss nearly double in part because of weak appliance and clothing sales at its namesake stores. Its shares rose $3.40, or 4.8 percent, to $74 in pre-market trading. Get the full story »
Consumer products maker Newell Rubbermaid Inc. says President and CEO Mark Ketchum will retire later this year after leading the company that behind Sharpie pens and Rubbermaid containers for about five years. Get the full story »
American Airlines and Japan Airlines plan to launch a new joint venture for trans-Pacific flying this spring, coordinating schedules to make it easier for travelers to catch international flights in Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles.
The moves underscore Chicago’s importance as a gateway for travel to northern Asia and are intended to boost passenger loads for JAL’s flights as the carriers begin to divvy up costs and share revenues on trans-Pacific routes, executives said. Get the full story »
