Reports: Wholesale trade inventories for November, 9 a.m.; Job openings and labor turnover survey for November, 9 a.m.
Major earnings: Lennar Corp., Supervalu Inc.
Abbott absorbable heart stent gets European OK
Abbott Laboratories’ said its experimental dissolvable heart stent has received approval in Europe, a key milestone in the development of the next-generation heart device for patients in the U.S. and around the world.
The North Chicago-based drug and medical device giant said it is the first-ever government regulatory approval of an absorbable stent. Get the full story »
Bill Daley resigns from Boeing board of directors
From The St. Louis Business Journal | Following his appointment as President Barack Obama’s chief of staff, William Daley has resigned from Boeing’s board of directors. Daley had served on the board since 2006. The resignation was effective Friday.
ADM plans grain elevator in North Dakota
From The Bismarck Tribune | Decatur-based agricultural processor Archer Daniels Midland has applied for an industrial zoning permit to build a concrete grain elevator and private railroad loop near Hebron, N.D., that allows 110 cars to be loaded with grain for market.
Moody’s downgrades outlook for O’Hare revenue bonds
By Jon Hilkevitch | A major credit rating firm delivered a stern warning Monday regarding the mounting risks that Chicago is taking by going deeper into debt in an attempt to build more runways at O’Hare International Airport without securing financial support from the airlines.
Moody’s Investors Service downgraded to a “negative” outlook from “stable” some of the revenue bonds that the Chicago Department of Aviation has issued to help pay for the $15 billion O’Hare Modernization Program and related projects.
Moody’s cited concern about the city’s latest gambit to postpone repayment of all interest on some construction bonds until at least 2018, resulting in much larger payments over the long run. The airlines and their customers would eventually be stuck paying for the increased borrowing costs through higher landing fees and higher airfares. Get the full story »
Gatorade taps top marketer as N. American head
Gatorade North America has named Sarah Robb O’Hagan as its new president and global chief marketing officer for sports nutrition. She succeeds Rich Beck, who will be senior vice president of global supply chain operations at PepsiCo, Gatorade’s parent.
Robb O’Hagan joined Gatorade in 2008 as chief marketing officer, spearheading the company’s launch of G Series, a three-product sales proposition for before, during and after workouts. Gatorade now offers a G Series for elite athletes and competitive high school athletes. The company is launching a G Series for fitness athletes in the spring, including energy bar bites. Get the full story »
Jimmy John’s switches to clover sprouts
Alfalfa sprouts.
By Alejandra Cancino and Monica Eng | Jimmy John’s is replacing the alfalfa sprouts on its menu with clover sprouts, the company said today.
The popular restaurant chain pulled alfalfa sprouts from its menus in December after a number of customers tested positive for salmonella. The recent outbreak has infected more than 100 people in 18 states.
Jimmy John’s said the switch will take place immediately in their corporate-owned stores, and that it will ask its franchises to follow suit. Get the full story »
Hefner to take Playboy private; shares spike
Playboy will be taken private under an agreement with Icon Acquisition Holdings, a limited partnership controlled by founder Hugh Hefner, left. (LATimes)
By Robert Channick | More than 57 years after launching Playboy from his South Side apartment, Hugh Hefner is buying back the bunny.
After six months of deliberation, an improved offer to take Playboy Enterprises private at $6.15 a share passed muster with the board, which voted Sunday to return the magazine empire to its 84-year-old founder.
Shares of Playboy spiked nearly 18 percent on Monday. Get the full story »
American sues Sabre in battle over flight listings
American Airlines is suing Sabre to stop the company from downplaying American flights in displays that it provides to travel agents. Get the full story »
CarePoint adds to portfolio with ivA Lifetec acquisition
Chicago-based private equity firm Waud Capital Partners said one of its portfolio companies, Cincinnati-based CarePoint Partners, has acquired ivA Lifetec, a Houston health-care services company.
The deal marks CarePoint’s 10th acquisition in three years and its entry into the Houston market.
Waud formed CarePoint in 2007 to provide home infusion therapy, which allows patients to receive medications using intravenous, subcutaneous and epidural methods without the inconvenience or cost of a hospital visit. CarePoint provides home infusion therapy and specialty pharmacy services in eight states; Illinois isn’t among them. Get the full story »
Groupon closes $950 million financing round
Groupon CEO Andrew Mason speaking in August 2010 at Groupon's headquarters, 600 W. Chicago Ave. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Daily deal startup Groupon said Monday it has completed a $950 million fund raising round, giving the Chicago-based company fresh capital for expanding globally and providing payouts to some of its employees and earlier investors.
This round of fundraising is Groupon’s largest to date. In late December, the company said it had raised $500 million of the $950 million amount.
The investors in the new round included notable firms such as Andreessen Horowitz and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Mail.ru Group, a Russian firm formerly known as DST, also participated after having funded Groupon in earlier rounds. Get the full story »
Sara Lee credit default swaps up on possible bid
From Bloomberg News | Credit-default swaps on Sara Lee Corp. climbed to a record following a report that buyout firm Apollo Global Management LLC teamed up with investor C. Dean Metropoulos to consider a bid for the company.
Holiday sales rise 4%, first uptick in two years
Retail sales rose a solid 4 percent for the 2010 holiday shopping season, marking the first uptick in two years, according to a report released Monday from ShopperTrak.
The sales gain for the combined months of November and December 2010, compared to the same period in 2009, occurred even as customer traffic remained flat, the firm said. The results suggest that consumers are making fewer visits to malls and individual stores, but spending more once they get there, said Bill Martin, co-founder of the Chicago-based customer research firm.
While overall shopping levels haven’t returned to a pre-recession pace, the 2010 holiday season “should be seen as a relatively encouraging sign for retailers heading into 2011,” Martin said. Get the full story »
Jan. 10 at 2:44 p.m.
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Filed under: Banking, Chicago executives, Jobs/employment, Personnel moves U.S. Trust adds five advisers in Chicago, Texas
U.S. Trust, a private banking unit of Bank of America, continued last year’s hiring spree on Monday as it added five financial advisers in Chicago and Texas.
The New York-based unit added Lisa Adelstein as a private client adviser in Chicago as well as Jay Bartley and Elizabeth Elgie as advisers in Fort Worth, Texas. U.S. Trust also added adviser Jason Garcia in Dallas and Michael Rogala in Houston. Get the full story »
ABC News chief open to Bloomberg partnership
The new head of ABC News said Monday he was open to a possible partnership with Bloomberg News as the news network seeks to expand its links with social and other media after a major restructuring in 2010.
Ben Sherwood, appointed president of ABC News in December, told television journalists at the Television Critics’ Association meetings in Pasadena that he wanted the network’s news division to expand its links with Facebook and other organizations. Get the full story »
