Dec. 9, 2010 at 9:55 a.m.
Filed under:
Exchanges,
Regulations
By Reuters
The U.S. futures regulator on Thursday unveiled a long-awaited rule outlining exemptions for firms using swaps to hedge risk, but at the last minute postponed issuing a separate rule with guidelines for swap trading platforms.
Without much explanation, Gary Gensler, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said he was delaying until next week the agency’s proposals to make swap execution facilities, or SEFs, transparent. The delay further underscores the tight deadline the agency is under, and different views by the agency’s five commissioners as to what Congress intended. Get the full story »
Dec. 9, 2010 at 9:54 a.m.
Filed under:
Insurance,
International,
M&A
By Reuters
Aon Corp. will bid as much as $86 million to buy South African insurance firm Glenrand MIB Ltd., giving the world’s largest insurance broker a bigger presence in Africa’s top economy. Get the full story »
Dec. 9, 2010 at 9:13 a.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Economy,
Jobs/employment
By Gail MarksJarvis
Here’s some modestly encouraging news for job seekers: About 47 percent of companies with sales in the $25 million to $2 billion range, plan to hire employees in 2011, according to a national survey of chief financial officers (CFOs) by Bank of America.
Dec. 9, 2010 at 9:08 a.m.
Filed under:
Media,
Radio
By Tower Ticker
Howard Stern announced on his subscription satellite program Thursday that he has signed a new five-year deal with Sirius XM Radio, putting to end months of speculation and discussion that had grown increasingly heated of late. Get the full story>>
Dec. 9, 2010 at 8:29 a.m.
Filed under:
By Reuters
Joe and Rika Mansueto at their home in Chicago on May 9, 2008. (Handout)
Another 17 U.S. billionaires, including Facebook co-founders Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz as well as Morningstar’s Joe Mansueto, have pledged to give away at least half their fortunes in a philanthropic campaign led by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.
A total of 57 billionaires now have joined The Giving Pledge, which was launched by Microsoft founder Gates and investor Buffett in June. The campaign announced the new pledges in a statement late Wednesday.
Gates, his wife Melinda, and Buffett have asked U.S. billionaires to give away at least half their wealth during their lifetime or after their death, and to publicly state their intention with a letter explaining their decision. Get the full story »
Dec. 9, 2010 at 8:24 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Litigation,
Restaurants
From WBBM | A woman who claimed a McDonald’s worker screamed at and spit on her during an early morning visit to the drive-through at the restaurant on Western and Madison is suing McDonald’s Corp. for $300,000.Get the full story>>
Dec. 9, 2010 at 8:15 a.m.
Filed under:
Magazines,
Media
From the BBC | A Dali watercolour of a reclining nude that once hung in Playboy founder Hugh Hefner’s bedroom has fetched $266,500 at a New York auction. The nude, featured in a 1967 issues of Playboy and not expected to get more $150,000, was among 125 artworks owned by the magazine to go under the hammer at Christie’s.
Wednesday’s sale included 80 photos and 24 cartoons, a fraction of the magazine’s archives stored in a warehouse in Chicago. Get the full story>>
By Reuters
General Mills Inc. is lowering the amount of sugar in its children’s breakfast cereals to no more than 10 grams per serving from 11 grams a year ago, the latest move from a U.S. foodmaker to address childhood obesity.
The step-down in sugar by General Mills, the maker of Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs and Trix cereals, is a move closer to its year-old goal to reduce to single-digit levels the number of grams of sugar per serving in all of its cereals advertised to children under 12. Get the full story »
Dec. 9, 2010 at 7:45 a.m.
Filed under:
Chicago executives,
Personnel moves
By Dow Jones Newswires
Acco Brands Corp. promoted Boris Elisman, head of operations for its Americas region, to the new roles of president and chief operating officer.
The office-products business has reported improving results in recent quarters. In October it reported its Americas segment–the biggest top-line contributor–saw third-quarter operating profit edge up 1 percent as net sales grew by the same margin. The company produces widely recognized brands such as Swingline staplers and Kensington computer accessories. Get the full story »
Dec. 9, 2010 at 7:37 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Jobs/employment,
Layoffs
By Reuters
New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week and the four-week moving average hovered at two-year lows, according to a government report on Thursday that revived hopes a labor market recovery was under way.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 17,000 to a seasonally adjusted 421,000, the Labor Department said. Get the full story »
By Dow Jones Newswires-Wall Street Journal
Medical-sector companies are passing out thousands of iPad tablet computers to salespeople to spruce up their pitch to doctors, and at the same time giving Apple Inc. a crucial foot in the door to business customers.
Abbott Laboratories, Medtronic Inc. and Boston Scientific Corp. are among the drug and medical-device firms making the move, while others say they are testing out the devices. Get the full story »
Dec. 9, 2010 at 6:06 a.m.
Filed under:
Advertising/Marketing,
Retail
By Associated Press
A yogurt machine in honeysuckle. (AP)
It may be gray outside when the calendar flips to 2011, but a bright red-pink hue will be in fashion. “Honeysuckle” is the color of 2011 chosen by Pantone Color Institute, the research arm of Pantone Inc., the company that largely sets color standards for the fashion and home industries.
The reddish pink shade lights a fire to your senses and revs you up, says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. And it’s much livelier than 2010’s color of the year: turquoise. Get the full story »
Dec. 9, 2010 at 5:59 a.m.
Filed under:
Cell phones,
Computers,
Software
By Associated Press
“The Smurfs’ Village,” a game for the iPhone and other Apple gadgets, was released a month ago and quickly became the highest-grossing application in the iTunes store. Yet it’s free to download.
So where does the money come from? Kelly Rummelhart of Gridley, Calif., has part of the answer. Her 4-year-old son was using her iPad to play the game and racked up $66.88 in charges on her credit card without knowing what he was doing. Get the full story »
Dec. 9, 2010 at 5:46 a.m.
Filed under:
Internet,
Media,
Newspapers
By Tower Ticker
Former Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Feder, who spent a year blogging for Chicago Public Media before quitting last month, is moving his media commentary to Time Out Chicago magazine’s Web site, effective Jan. 3.
