Dec. 27, 2010 at 12:35 p.m.
Filed under:
Investigations,
Taxes
By Alejandra Cancino
The federal government is accusing a Chicago woman of preparing fraudulent tax returns by faking or inflating donations to charities and business expenses.
The government says Martha A. Jones prepared about 270 fraudulent tax returns annually between 2005 and 2008. Court documents estimate that they have led to a loss of over $5 million in revenue.
Because Jones didn’t sign the tax returns she prepared or helped prepare, the government is unsure of the exact number of fraudulent returns. Get the full story »
Dec. 27, 2010 at 11:52 a.m.
Filed under:
Bankruptcy,
Litigation
By Dow Jones Newswires
Disgruntled Blockbuster Inc. creditor Lyme Regis Partners LLC has sued Carl Icahn, alleging that the billionaire investor set the video-rental chain up to fail so he could take it over.
In the lawsuit filed last week in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, junior bondholder Lyme Regis said Icahn took advantage of his “insider” status, including his approval of a 2009 bond issuance while he served as a Blockbuster board member, to put himself in a position to own the company upon its emergence from Chapter 11. Get the full story »
Dec. 27, 2010 at 11:21 a.m.
Filed under:
Airports,
Government
By Dow Jones Newswires
A reopening time for two of New York area’s three main airports is unknown as of noon, but JFK is expected to reopen at 6 p.m. EST, according to the Federal Aviation Authority’s Web site.
Early Monday the FAA said it anticipated a reopening for the three airports at 4 p.m. EST, but by mid-morning had left the openings in limbo.
La Guardia, John F. Kennedy International and Newark International, in Newark, N.J. have remained closed due to ice and snow.
Dec. 27, 2010 at 11:14 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Government,
Manufacturing
By Alejandra Cancino
The Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index increased slightly in November to 81.1 percent, according to data released Monday by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
October’s index was revised to 80.8 percent, a .3 percent increase from September. Get the full story »
Dec. 27, 2010 at 10:41 a.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Insurance,
Technology
By Becky Yerak
When plugged into a car's computer, the Allstate Drive Wise device can monitor driving habits and reward the good ones.
Allstate has launched a voluntary program that uses a device installed in a car to reward safe and low-mileage Illinois drivers with savings of up to 30 percent.
The Northbrook-based auto insurer plans to expand the program, called Drive Wise, to other states as early as the second quarter of 2011.
Allstate Drive Wise participants get a small, wireless gadget that plugs into their vehicle’s onboard computer through the diagnostic port, usually under the dashboard.
For consumers concerned about Big Brother, Allstate said the device tracks only factors used to calculate a driving score, including mileage; driving time of day; hard or extreme braking; and maximum speed.
Get the full story »
Dec. 27, 2010 at 10:35 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Retail
By Reuters
A major snowstorm on the U.S. East Coast kept many people away from malls just after Christmas, casting a pall on the final act of the holiday shopping season.
The weekend’s blizzard conditions, which shut down airports and halted traffic, may also signal an end to shoppers’ appetite in the next few months. Retail shares declined more than the wider stock market on Monday. Get the full story »
Dec. 27, 2010 at 10:04 a.m.
Filed under:
Computers,
Internet,
Retail,
Technology
By Dow Jones Newswires
Amazon.com Inc. said its third-generation Kindle is the best-selling product in its history, taking the title from the book “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” though the online retail giant didn’t disclose the number of units sold.
The company said that on its peak day, Nov. 29, also known as Cyber Monday, customers ordered more than 13.7 million items, up 44 percent from its peak day a year earlier, when customers ordered more than 9.5 million items. Get the full story »
Dec. 27, 2010 at 9:55 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Government,
International,
Investing
By CNN
Treasury prices picked up where they left off before Christmas: heading lower.
Investors sent bond prices down just a bit Monday, after a surprise interest rate hike in China and before a $99 billion auction of long-term government notes scheduled for this week. Get the full story »
Dec. 27, 2010 at 9:34 a.m.
Filed under:
Transportation
By Dow Jones Newswires
Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor service between New York and Boston will resume on a limited schedule Monday morning.
Service had been suspended since 5 p.m. Sunday due to blizzard conditions. Amtrak said passengers should still expect delays throughout the day and allow for ample time to arrive at their respective stations, due to the residual effects of the storm.
Dec. 27, 2010 at 9:28 a.m.
Filed under:
Chicago executives,
Philanthropy
By Becky Yerak
On one Sunday in December for the last seven years, about 300 children have gathered at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Chicago to decorate gingerbread houses.
It’s part of an annual holiday brunch to benefit Women in Need Growing Stronger, a nonprofit group that’s chaired by Rita Canning. Get the full story »
Dec. 27, 2010 at 9:21 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Packaged foods,
Recalls
By Alejandra Cancino
A gourmet bakery in Lincolnwood specializing in European style pastries is recalling all its desserts made after Nov. 1 because of a food poisoning outbreak that has sickened 100 people. Get the full story »
Dec. 27, 2010 at 8:54 a.m.
Filed under:
Advertising/Marketing,
China,
International,
Media
By Associated Press
February marks the start of the year of the rabbit in the Chinese lunar calendar.
It may be an auspicious sign for Playboy Enterprises Inc., which opened a nightclub in Macau last month as it seeks to expand its business by licensing the trademark bunny head logo on lifestyle products in Asia, its fastest growing region.
The company, founded by Hugh Hefner in 1953, also plans to open a Playboy Mansion in 2012 in Macau, a former Portuguese colony on the southern coast of China, and has been busy cutting deals to sell Playboy-branded merchandise across Asia.
Dec. 27, 2010 at 7:38 a.m.
Filed under:
Advertising/Marketing
From The Chicago Sun-Times | S.C. Johnson, a home products manufacturer in Racine, Wis., said last week that is putting the advertising accounts for its entire global portfolio of iconic brands into review, something that could “spell disaster” for DraftFCB/Chicago. DraftFCT, one of the largest global advertising agency networks with headquarters in both Chicago and New York, has handled advertising for a huge number of S.C. Johnson brands since 1953, including well-known products such as Pledge, Windex and Raid.
Dec. 27, 2010 at 7:30 a.m.
Filed under:
Autos
By Los Angeles Times
Business travel is coming back, and the airline and hotel industries are reaping the benefits. But a less obvious beneficiary is the rental car industry.
During the recession, demand for rentals dropped, particularly among business travelers. In addition, many rental companies had an oversupply of cars bought under special deals offered by manufacturers, pushing rates further down. As a result, many rental car companies held on to automobiles longer, providing their customers with cars that already had 30,000 miles or more.
But starting late this year, the nation’s largest rental car companies began to see business — and revenue — grow again.
Dec. 27, 2010 at 7:23 a.m.
Filed under:
International,
Investigations,
Investing
By Reuters
A Russian judge pronounced Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev guilty of embezzlement on Monday at the end of the jailed former oil tycoon’s politically charged second trial. Get the full story »
