Franklin Resources Inc., parent of Franklin Templeton Investments, is in talks to boost its stake in First Chicago Bancorp, which owns $1.08 billion-asset First Chicago Bank & Trust, to 19 percent, according to documents filed with the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Get the full story »
$200M data center coming to South Loop
From Crain’s Chicago Business | Red Sea Group, an Israeli real estate firm, has acquired a former Northern Trust check-processing plant in the South Loop with plans to spend about $200 million to convert the eight-story building at 840 S. Canal into one of the city’s biggest data centers. Get the fully story>>
Morgan Stanley to spin off trading unit
Morgan Stanley will spin off its proprietary trading business into an independent firm in 2012, joining a host of Wall Street banks scrambling to comply with new rules that bar making market bets with their own capital. Get the full story »
CME sees jump in swaps clearing later this year
CME Group, which began clearing interest-rate swaps in October, expects a jump in business this year after a U.S. legislative mandate on clearing goes into effect, a CME executive said on Monday. Get the full story »
Fed turns record profits over to Treasury
The Federal Reserve is turning over a record $78.4 billion to the U.S. Treasury Department after its swollen securities portfolios generated big profits in 2010, the central bank said on Monday. Get the full story »
Fiat raises Chrysler stake, readies for IPO
Italy’s Fiat lifted its stake in Chrysler to 25 percent Monday as Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne prepares for an upcoming round of meetings with bankers to refinance Chrysler’s debt and to ready an initial public offering of shares. Get the full story »
Caterpillar plans Thailand mining equipment plant
Caterpillar Inc. said Monday it will open a plant in Thailand to produce underground mining equipment in the midst of increasing demand for mined commodities by developing countries. Get the full story »
Ford plans to hire 7,000 U.S. workers by 2012
Ford Motor Co. says it will add more than 7,000 workers in the U.S. over the next two years as it begins producing several new vehicles. Get the full story »
Chicago wins back lost trade show
A key health-care technology trade show whose departure helped trigger the overhaul of McCormick Place operations announced this morning that it is returning to the Chicago convention hall in 2015 and 2019.
The state-mandated reforms at McCormick Place were cited by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society as key factors in deciding to put Chicago back in its meeting schedule.
The changes could translate into cost savings of at least 25 percent, said H. Stephen Lieber, the group’s president and CEO. The estimate was based on talks with representatives from other trade shows that have taken place at the complex since the overhaul began last summer, he said. Get the full story »
Oil prices climb after Alaska Pipeline disruption
Oil prices rose above $89 a barrel Monday after the 800-mile trans-Alaska pipeline owned by BP PLC and four other companies was shut down because of a leak.
Buffett-backed Chinese carmaker prepares for U.S.
BYD Co Ltd., a Chinese car and battery maker backed by Warren Buffett, expects to enter the mass U.S. auto market in the first quarter of 2012, starting with its e6 electric car model, its chairman said on Monday. Get the full story »
JPMorgan: Rising food prices are fueling inflation
Rising food prices are stoking global inflation with many agricultural commodity markets on the rise, driven by adverse weather in key producing countries, a senior trader at JPMorgan said on Monday. Get the full story »
Midwest business growth less than thought
Business activity in the U.S. Midwest expanded less robustly in December than originally thought, an industry association reported on Monday, with employment and new orders registering less growth than earlier reported. Get the full story »
Morningstar COO Tao Huang to leave firm
Chicago-based mutual fund and stock research company Morningstar Inc. announced Monday that its chief operating officer, Tao Huang, will leave the firm at the end of January. Get the full story »
