Online sales on Cyber Monday surged nearly 20 percent from last year, according to findings from an analytics group released Tuesday.
“Cyber Monday came in as the biggest shopping day of the year so far,” said John Squire, chief strategy officer of Coremetrics, a unit of IBM Corp.
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The Senate passed the largest overhaul of the U.S. food safety system in decades on Tuesday, a response to massive recalls such as last summer’s recall of half a billion eggs in a salmonella outbreak.
The Senate voted 73-25 to pass the bill. The House of Representatives backed a different version in July 2009. With their post-election session due to end by mid-December, lawmakers have just weeks to resolve their differences and send legislation to President Barack Obama to sign into law. Get the full story »
A big U.S. bank is the target of the next megadata dump by WikiLeaks, the online site that this week released a trove of confidential U.S. diplomatic cables from around the world. In an interview with Forbes, WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange compared the upcoming release, scheduled for next year, to the damaging emails that came out after the collapse of Enron Corp. He did not identify the bank.
That’s not stopping others from speculating.
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President Barack Obama (C) and Vice President Joe Biden (3R) meet with bipartisan Congressional leadership in the President's Private Dining Room at The White House November 30, 2010. (Pete Souza/White House Photo)
President Barack Obama said on Tuesday he still disagreed with Republicans on whether to extend Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, but the two sides agreed to negotiate a deal in the coming days.
Obama said he appointed Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and budget director Jack Lew to work with congressional Republicans and Democrats to come up with a compromise to prevent broad tax increases from occurring next year.
“We should work to make sure that taxes will not go up by thousands of dollars on hard-working middle-class Americans come January 1, which would be disastrous for those families but also could be crippling for the economy,” Obama told reporters after a meeting with congressional leaders at the White House. Get the full story »
Airbus has virtually finalized a decision to upgrade its best-selling A320 passenger jet with new engines and the $1-2 billion project could be announced as early as Wednesday, two sources familiar with the matter said.
The project is designed to fend off competition from new market entrants like Canada’s Bombardier and shore up the European planemaker’s position against rival Boeing. Get the full story »
While the U.S. economy will grow at a modest clip in 2011, housing prices likely will languish and unemployment will remain high, according to forecasts by University of Chicago Booth School of Business professors at a luncheon presentation today.
Growth in the gross domestic product could reach 3.4 percent, exceeding the consensus of economic forecasters, according to economics professor Randall Kroszner, who was a governor of the Federal Reserve System from 2006 to 2009.
“I don’t agree with those who say we are in an extended period of low growth, but we are unlikely to have a powerful recovery either,” he said. Get the full story »
Curious about what the popular clothing items were back in Sears’ 1905 catalog, or how gadgets have changed over the past century. Well, Hoffman Estates-based Sears has partnered with Ancestry.com to archive the retailer’s fall and spring season catalogs from 1896 to 1993.
(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Starbucks may soon serve your morning coffee in a used paper cup that has been recycled into a new paper cup or napkins, as the coffee chain aims to ensure that 100 percent of its cups are reusable or recyclable by 2015.
In 2008, Starbucks set several aggressive goals to reduce its environmental impact. Over the past year, the company has introduced front-of-the-store centers in Toronto and Seattle to recycle cups, and in San Francisco, where cups can be composted. Get the full story »
The successor to failed ShoreBank has added a new director and a new personnel executive.
Urban Partnership Bank of Chicago has tapped Martin Eakes, chief executive of the Center for Responsible Lending, a financial watchdog group based in Durham, N.C., for its board of directors pending regulatory approval.
“Martin has a deep understanding of the unmet financial services needs of the bank’s underserved urban communities and has strong ties to residents, entrepreneurs, and leaders of community organizations,” said William Farrow, CEO of Urban Partnership Bank.
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The Chevy Volt. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
General Motors said on Tuesday it would hire 1,000 engineers and researchers in Michigan over the next two years to develop more electric cars and hybrids as it launched its battery-powered Chevrolet Volt.
“Volt clearly demonstrates that we are well on our way and it is especially true when it comes to the electrification of the automobile,” GM Chief Executive Dan Akerson said at a ceremony marking the start of production of the plug-in hybrid.
The Volt, which tops the Toyota Prius for fuel economy, is a first-of-its-kind vehicle that GM has touted as a symbol of its commitment to pushing for gains in fuel efficiency and developing new technology. Get the full story »
The U.S. government debt market trimmed gains on Tuesday after data signaled faster-than-expected manufacturing growth in the U.S. Midwest region. Get the full story »
From the Wisconsin State Journal | A troubled Wisconsin bank is trying to raise capital, either by bringing in investors or finding a merger partner, and has been talking to Steven Hovde, a Madison native and Chicago area investment banker. A key measure of the financial health of Evergreen State Bank, located in Stoughton, Wis., has fallen sharply in the past several months, and bank officials sent a letter to the more than 100 shareholders warning the stock soon could be worthless.
Continental Airlines said Monday that it reached a labor contract with negotiators for about 7,000 union employees.
The fleet-service employees, represented by the Teamsters union, will hold a ratification vote in the coming weeks.
Terms were not disclosed. Get the full story »
A product image provided by Starbucks showing the company's new line of Seattle's Best Coffee. (AP Photo/Starbucks Corp.)
Starbucks Corp. wants to appeal a bit more to the average Joe.
This week, the company will roll out a new line of its Seattle’s Best Coffee to be sold at grocery stores and other retailers. It has a lighter taste and simpler selling approach that it hopes will attract coffee drinkers that Starbucks may have left behind.
The coffee giant acquired Seattle’s Best about seven years ago. Until recently, has let the brand sit quietly on the sidelines. But as competition for coffee drinkers has increased, Starbucks is looking to it for growth. Get the full story »
Business activity in the U.S. Midwest grew faster than expected in November, helped in part by stronger employment, a report showed Tuesday. Get the full story »
