Urban Partnership Bank, the $1.4 billion-asset successor to the failed ShoreBank, has hired Maureen Bismark as its legal department’s new assistant general counsel. Get the full story »
Insider trading suit against Deerfield doc dismissed
An insider-trading lawsuit against a Deerfield ophthalmologist has been dismissed after a judge found that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission did not have enough evidence to show that the doctor possessed material, nonpublic information.
In February, the SEC had filed a civil suit against Dr. Gerald Horn, accusing him of engaging in illegal insider trading in the stock and options of his employer, LCA Vision Inc., between December 2005 and August 2006. The trades resulted in illicit gains of $1.4 million, the SEC said.
The SEC alleged that Horn accessed nonpublic information contained in monthly reports that listed the number of laser eye surgeries performed companywide to determine whether LCA would meet its quarterly revenue targets. He then made successful options purchases on the basis of that information, the SEC said. Get the full story »
American Airlines yanks fares from Orbitz
Orbitz Worldwide Inc. stopped selling American Airlines’ tickets on Tuesday afternoon after a Cook County Circuit Court judge allowed the nation’s #3 airline to yank all content from the online travel giant.
American said it pulled its inventory from Orbitz immediately after the ruling. Customers who need to change tickets booked through Orbitz.com should call 1-800-433-7300, the airline advised.
Texas-based American had sought to sever ties to the Chicago-based online travel agency on Dec. 1 as a result of a contract dispute with Orbitz and Travelport, the online travel giant’s largest shareholder. Get the full story »
Gatorade aims to reinvent itself as ‘nutrition’ drink
Battling back from a dismal 2009, Gatorade is putting on its game face and launching a new advertising campaign seeking to cast itself as more than a sports drink.
Starting Wednesday, the Chicago-based unit of PepsiCo Inc. will be promoting in commercials its “G Series,” a trio of products it introduced earlier this year that targets student athletes looking for a drink before, during and after a workout or athletic event. Get the full story »
CFTC names ‘Flash Crash’ expert as chief economist
The U.S. futures regulator said on Tuesday it has promoted Andrei Kirilenko, an economist known for his role in the review of the May 6 “flash crash,” as chief economist for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Get the full story »
U.S. workers made 3.2% less in 2009
In a bit of news that probably surprises no one, Americans made less money last year than they did the year before, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said Tuesday morning. Total compensation of U.S. workers shrank 3.2 percent in 2009. Blame it on declines in manufacturing and construction industries, the bureau said.
Just to be clear, compensation is the income companies pay employees for their work, as well as supplements such as contributions to pension and insurance funds. Employers, not employees, report compensation. So if you’re getting paid by your father to pick up leaves clogging the gutter in the rain, you probably aren’t counted in this study.
Gas prices 13.6% higher than last December
Holiday shoppers will need to bump up their budget for one purchase this year, and they can’t even put it under the tree: gasoline.
The price of fuel is up 13.6 percent from last December and 76 percent higher than December 2008, according to a new study from the Oil Price Information Service. Get the full story »
Google to add hacking warnings to search results
Google has been posting malware warnings on suspicious search results for years, but now it’ll also add notifications to sites that might have been hacked.
When a site raises red flags, Google will add a link under the main search result that says, “This site may be compromised,” the company said in a blog post. Google will use automated tools designed to search for common signs of hacking.
Dec. 21, 2010 at 1:41 p.m.
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Filed under: Airlines, Airplanes, Airports, International, Litigation French prosecutors appeal Concorde crash ruling
A French prosecutor’s office said Tuesday it is appealing the court ruling that blamed Continental Airlines for the deadly crash of a supersonic Concorde jet outside Paris a decade ago.
Prosecutors at the court in Pontoise, outside Paris, had argued that the former head of the Concorde program at planemaker Aerospatiale should share some legal responsibility with Continental for the crash. Get the full story »
United calls ‘LineBuster’ to get fliers out of line
Few holiday rituals cause more angst than air travel, where frazzled crowds and bad weather can transform even the simplest trip into a teeth-gnashing, garment-rending affair.
Adoption of technology such as text-message alerts and smart phone applications has smoothed some travel wrinkles, notifying travelers of rescheduled flight times or helping them navigate an unfamiliar airport. Airlines also have automated much of the process by installing self-service kiosks where passengers can check in for flights, look up their itinerary or request an upgrade. Get the full story »
Fitch issues warning on Greek bonds
Fitch ratings agency is warning of a possible downgrade of Greek bonds, adding pressure on the Socialist government as it debates the 2011 budget in parliament. Get the full story »
Brokerages to report cost basis under new IRS rule
The New Year’s celebrations will barely be over before financial advisers face their first challenge for 2011 — new rules requiring brokerages to tell Uncle Sam how much investors paid for stocks.
The cost-basis reporting rules are designed to ensure people do not understate investment gains or overstate investment losses to minimize their taxes. Get the full story »
FCC OKs ‘Open Internet’ regulations
U.S. communications regulators adopted Internet traffic rules on Tuesday that prevent providers from blocking lawful content but still let them ration access to their networks.
The rules aim to strike a balance between the interests of Internet service providers, content companies and consumers, but some industry analysts think a court challenge is still likely. Get the full story »
Poll: People can’t live without high-speed Internet
High-speed Internet has had the greatest technological impact on society over the past decade and is the technology most people say they cannot live without, according to a new poll.
Twenty four percent of 1,950 U.S. adults questioned in the online survey conducted by Zogby International said high-speed Internet had the greatest impact on their lives, followed closely by Facebook at 22 percent and Google with 10 percent.
Of the technologies people say they cannot live without, high-speed Internet came in first at 28 percent and email was second at 18 percent. Get the full story »
Cook County employees see wages fall
Cook County workers saw their average compensation decline by 0.3 percent in 2009 to $67,791 per job, according to statistics released Tuesday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
When adding the compensation of all workers, Cook County experienced a decline of 5.2 percent to 1.7 million. Cook was among the more than 2,000 counties — about two-thirds — that experienced compensation declines in 2009. Get the full story »
