Shares of Sara Lee Corp. rose more than 2.5 percent Monday on reports that a group of private equity firms is interested in a buyout of the coffee and meat company. Get the full story »
Chevy Volt, Ford Explorer take Detroit’s top honors
The Chevrolet Volt plug-in electric car, the centerpiece of General Motors’ comeback, was named North American Car of the Year Monday. Ford Motor Co.’s latest incarnation of its Explorer sport utility vehicle was named 2011 Truck of the Year, edging out the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Dodge Durango. Get the full story »
U.S. sets up product safety office in China
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced that it will set up its first office outside the United States in China in a bid to reduce the amount of dangerous products reaching the American market. Get the full story »
Those with jobs spending more freely
A steady decline in layoffs is giving the vast majority of adults who have jobs the confidence to spend more freely and help energize the economy. They no longer worry so much about losing their jobs.
Their renewed confidence has boosted retail sales — just what’s needed to spark what economists call a “virtuous cycle”: Higher consumer spending raises company profits, which spurs hiring, which fuels more spending and growth. Get the full story »
Duke creates largest U.S. utility with Progress deal
Duke Energy said Monday it agreed to buy Progress Energy Inc for $13.7 billion in stock, creating the largest U.S. power company.
The transaction would create an industry giant with approximately 7.1 million electricity customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio, and 57,000 megawatts of generating capacity. Get the full story »
DuPont to purchase Danisco for $5.8B
DuPont Co. says it is buying Danish food ingredients maker Danisco A/S for $5.8 billion as it looks to broaden its food and biofuels operations. The deal has a total value of $6.3 billion, which includes the assumption of $500 million in debt. Get the full story »
Verizon beefs up network to prepare for iPhone
(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Verizon Wireless has been beefing up its network and believes it will have no problem handling iPhone-type loads, a claim that could be put to the test this year if the carrier signs up millions of subscribers using the Apple Inc. device.
Verizon Wireless, the country’s largest wireless carrier, is confident enough in its network that it will offer unlimited data-use plans when it starts selling the iPhone around the end of this month, a person familiar with the matter said. Such plans would provide a key means of distinguishing its service from rival AT&T Inc., which limits how much Internet data such as videos and photos its customers may use each month. Get the full story »
Bill Rancic sells Park Tower condo for $1.425M
ELITE STREET | By Bob Goldsborough | Reality TV star Bill Rancic, the Chicago entrepreneur, motivational speaker and real-estate developer who won the first season of Donald Trump’s
reality show “The Apprentice,” has sold a five-room condo unit in the Park Tower building on North Michigan Avenue for $1.425 million, less than 20 months after he paid $1.185 million for it. Get the full story »
Jan. 10 at 5:30 a.m.
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Filed under: The day ahead in business
Earnings: Alcoa Inc.
Other: French President Nicolas Sarkozy meets with President Barack Obama about financial governance and the Group of 20 nations.
Apollo, others consider Sara Lee buyout, sources say
Private-equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC and investor C. Dean Metropoulos have formed a group of investors to explore a purchase of Sara Lee Corp., people familiar with the matter said.
Apollo and Metropoulos, a Connecticut entrepreneur who acquired Pabst Brewing Co. last year, are leading a consortium that includes Bain Capital LLC and TPG Capital LP, the people said. Get the full story »
December storms cost United $25 million
December snowstorms that crippled air travel in Europe and along the Atlantic seaboard in the U.S. cost the parent company of United Airlines $25 million in consolidated passenger revenue, and will reduce fourth-quarter earnings by $10 million, the carrier said Friday.
Continental Airlines, which along with United is a subsidiary of United Continental Holdings Inc., was hit hard by the Boxing Day blizzards that brought operations to a halt at its hub at Newark Liberty International Airport and other greater New York area airports. More than 5,000 flights were canceled over a three-day stretch, stranding at least 750,000 travelers. Get the full story »
Fed’s Evans: U.S. economic growth lags
The sluggish U.S. economy shows signs of gaining strength but still needs a lot of help from the Federal Reserve to get back on track, a top Fed policy maker said on Friday. Get the full story »
Verizon iPhone may be introduced next week
(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Verizon Wireless said Friday that it will host an event in New York City on Tuesday, fueling speculation of an announcement regarding a Verizon-powered iPhone.
The invitation was largely devoid of details, saying little other than that Verizon President and Chief Operating Officer Lowell McAdam would host.
Verizon Wireless, the largest U.S. wireless carrier, wasn’t immediately available for comment, and iPhone maker Apple Inc. declined to comment. Get the full story »
Teen retailer Five Below plans Chicago-area stores
From the Chicago Sun-Times | Philadelphia-based retailer Five Below, which sells everything for $5 or less, has signed leases for 10 locations in the Chicago area with openings planned in the spring. The chain, which calls itself a “five-and-dime for the Facebook generation,” sells merchandise geared to teenagers and pre-teens, with an emphasis on combining the cheap with the trendy. Get the full story »
