The Illinois Department of Agriculture says Chicago company Columbus Meat market Inc. has recalled about 200 pounds of ground beef patties because of possible E. coli contamination.
The Illinois House backed a controversial bill Friday that would help Power Holdings of Illinois move forward with a plant slated for Jefferson County that would turn coal into synthetic natural gas.
The bill, SB1927, is the second bill related to synthetic natural gas to move forward in the lame duck session and must pass the senate next week for the governor to sign it into law.
Representatives voted 82 to 31 to pass the bill, which would force state gas utilities to purchase 100 percent of the gas the plant would produce for 10 years: a last-minute amendment to a bill aimed at protecting patients against abuse and neglect. Get the full story »
Quaker Foods and Snacks North America, the Chicago-based division of PepsiCo, has tapped Jose Luis Prado as its new president.
Prado replaces Jaya Kumar, who will lead PepsiCo’s Global Nutrition Group, which is based in Chicago. Kumar served as president of Quaker for one year. Before that, he was senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Frito-Lay. Get the full story »
Chicago Magazine has hired the Chicago Reader’s Whet Moser as associate digital editor for its chicagomag.com Web site. Chicago Magazine is part of Tribune Co.’s Chicago Tribune Media Group.
Google is establishing a food-and-beverage team in Chicago to link with advertisers and marketers including Northfield-based Kraft and Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo. Karen Sauder, who recently resigned from her position as managing director at DraftFCB Chicago, will become Industry Director for Food and Beverages at Google.
In the new role, Sauder is expected to build a Chicago-based team, focusing on Google’s efforts to build its advertising and marketing business in the food and beverage industries for the first time, according to a Google spokesman.
Sauder will take on the role as early as Jan. 31. Get the full story »
Bloomberg News | Alexei Koval, a former pricing manager at Northern Trust Corp., has pleaded guilty to securities fraud in an insider trading scheme with former UBS banker Igor Poteroba. Poteroba pleaded guilty last month.
The U.S. Supreme Court said Friday that it would decide whether a state law restricting commercial access to information about prescription drug records violated constitutional free-speech rights. Get the full story »
Ford unveiled the Focus Electric at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Friday, promising an electric car that’s fun to drive.
Ford’s electric will have a top speed of 84 miles per hour and the suspension, steering and brakes will be shared with the gasoline-powered car. Get the full story »
Americans kept their credit cards at bay in November, subdued by high joblessness and fallen home values.
The 27th straight drop in revolving credit restrained overall consumer borrowing, according to the Federal Reserve’s monthly consumer credit data. Get the full story »
Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne says he wants to pay back the loans Chrysler got from the U.S. and Canadian governments this year if he can.
Marchionne said Friday that he remains committed to that in remarks to reporters while at a Chrysler plant in Brampton, Ontario, where he met with employees to celebrate the production launch of the redesigned 2011 Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger. Get the full story »
Hawaiian Punch is giving Punchy more pop.
Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc., which owns Hawaiian Punch, is giving the fruity drink’s mascot a 21st-Century facelift with new computer-generated design. Punchy’s new three-dimensional surfer look, to be featured on packaging now being shipped and in Internet campaigns starting in February, will try to appeal more to the drink’s target audience of 13-year-olds, who have grown up watching cartoons like Pixar Animation Studio’s Toy Story. Get the full story »
The U.S. budget deficit narrowed slightly in the first three months of the fiscal year as revenue grew at a faster rate than outlays, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated Friday.
The government recorded a deficit of $371 billion in October, November and December, $18 billion less than a year earlier, CBO said.
U.S. economic recovery may have started to gain traction and market expectations for stronger recovery have bid up interest rates, Federal Reserve Gov. Elizabeth Duke said Friday.
Duke, in prepared remarks to the Maryland Bankers Association, said she believes expectations will remain subdued despite signs economic recovery is gaining momentum. Get the full story »
In a ruling that may affect foreclosures nationwide, Massachusetts’ highest court voided the seizure of two homes by Wells Fargo & Co. and US Bancorp after the banks failed to show they held the mortgages at the time they foreclosed.
Bank shares fell, dragging down the broader U.S. stock market, after the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts on Friday issued its decision, which upheld a lower court ruling. Get the full story »
