Reports: Weekly jobless claims, 7:30 a.m.; Retailers release sales data for December; Freddie Mac releases weekly mortgage rates at 9 a.m.
Major earnings: Constellation Brands Inc., Monsanto Co.
Southwest overhauls frequent-flier program
Passengers board a Southwest Airlines jet in Burbank, Calif. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
Southwest Airlines is preparing a $100 million reboot of its Rapid Rewards frequent-flier program that executives describe as the biggest product launch in the carrier’s 40-year history.
Effective March 1, the low-cost carrier plans to unveil a more complicated point system to replace its current program of awarding a free trip to passengers who log 16 flights over a 24-month stretch.
It is unprecedented and risky for a major airline to completely remake its loyalty program from scratch, analysts said. Get the full story »
Report skewers BP, firms in oil spill for risks
BP and its partners made a series of cost-cutting decisions that ultimately contributed to the oil spill that ravaged the Gulf of Mexico coast over the summer, the White House oil spill commission said Wednesday.
In its final report on causes of the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history, the commission said BP and its collaborators on the doomed Macondo well had lacked a system to ensure their actions were safe. Get the full story »
Supervalu settles Chicago bias case for $3.2M
Supervalu Inc. has agreed to pay $3.2 million to 110 workers to resolve allegations it systematically terminated disabled employees at Chicago-area supermarkets, one of the largest such settlements under the Americans With Disabilities Act. Get the full story »
Motorola unveils tablet, ‘most powerful’ phone
The world’s most powerful smart phone.
Such a claim is a bold one, but Motorola Mobility is making it at the Consumer Electronics Show, the annual industry confab where companies try to one-up each other with the newest technology and flashiest product releases. Get the full story »
CBOE to create VIX measures for single stocks
The Chicago Board Options Exchange wants investors to measure the “fear” baked into stock options such as those of Goldman Sachs or Apple.
The exchange said Wednesday it will apply the methods of its “fear index” to options on five popular stocks, the other three being Amazon.com, International Business Machines Corp., and Google. The measure, whose formal name is the CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX, shot to fame during the financial crisis as investors sought tools to measure and trade in an anxious and plunging stock market. Get the full story »
American Airlines holds ground in Sabre spat
American Airlines sparred with third-party ticket sellers on Wednesday in an ongoing battle over distribution costs and methods as one key provider of airfare data vowed to stop offering the airline’s flight information.
Privately held Sabre Holdings Corp operates a global distribution system that provides information on airfares to travel agencies like Travelocity. The company said it would end its distribution deal with American in August — a month before the end of its contract.
The company said it would discontinue price discounts on American Airlines tickets that have stimulated sales. The airline is also at odds with Chicago-based online travel agency Orbitz Worldwide and last month stopped selling tickets on Orbitz. Get the full story »
Court gives Google another shot at Microsoft deal
A federal judge has sided with Google Inc. in a lawsuit alleging the U.S. Department of Interior improperly favored Microsoft Corp. in a deal that could have had ripple effects on future software contracts with other federal government agencies. Get the full story »
Groupon ads in U.K. banned for being misleading
From AdAge | Chicago-based daily deal site Groupon saw three of its online ads banned in the U.K. after the Advertising Standards Authority, an industry-established group there, claimed they were misleading to consumers.
CBOE sets modest goals for electronic exchange
CBOE Holdings is setting a low bar for success at its newly launched electronic exchange, with officials saying they expect to capture just 1 to 2 percent of the total U.S. options market in 2011.
“There’s an opportunity there,” CBOE Executive Vice-Chairman Edward Tilly told reporters over lunch. “It may take some time to develop.”
C2, as the new exchange is known, garnered 0.7 percent of the market in December, its second full month of operation, figures from the Options Clearing Corp show. There are nine U.S. options exchanges. Get the full story »
Jones Lang LaSalle makes hire from rival Cushman
From Bloomberg News | Jones Lang LaSalle has hired a New York-based office leasing team from rival Cushman & Wakefield Inc., the second addition of a major brokerage from Cushman in less than a year.
Buyout firms circle Fortune Brands’ home unit
A Moen Single Handle Bath Faucet at a Home Depot in New York, July 27, 2007. Fortune Brands Inc. is the holding company for Moen faucets, among other products. (Andrew Burton/Bloomberg News)
Several major private equity firms are considering buying Fortune Brands’ home products unit after the company announced plans to spin off the $3 billion division, five people familiar with the matter said.
Some of the large buyout firms, including Blackstone Group and Bain Capital, are studying the potential of either making offers for the entire unit or acquiring a stake in the business as part of the planned spin-off, the people said.
Such considerations are at a preliminary stage and it is unclear if Fortune would be interested in selling to buyout firms, which would incur heavy taxes, as opposed to a tax-free spinoff, the people said. Get the full story »
Commodities rebound in rally; soy leads the way
U.S. corn, soybean and wheat futures surged Wednesday in line with a broad rally across commodity markets as an inflow of fund money and signs of an improving economy resumed the hot streak of 2010. Get the full story »
Toyota awarded $2.6M over whistleblower’s claims
An arbitrator has awarded Toyota $2.6 million in damages against a former in-house attorney who turned into a whistleblower and sued the automaker.
Illinois, Great Lakes states see exodus in 2010
(Steve Lasker/Chicago Tribune)
More people moved out of Illinois than moved to the state during 2010 as the Great Lakes states saw the greatest exodus of any region in the country, according to a study by United Van Lines that tracks migration patterns.
Western states like Nevada that had long served as a destination for those leaving the Rust Belt saw their traffic level off, according to United Van Lines’ 34th annual migration study.
The most popular destination in the nation was the District of Columbia, which held that distinction for the third consecutive year. Oregon finished second in the study, followed by North Carolina and Idaho.
The migration patterns in the study aren’t comprehensive because they are based only on the 146,837 interstate household moves handled by United Van Lines among the lower 48 states and District of Columbia. Get the full story »
