Nov. 29, 2010 at 4:16 p.m.
Filed under:
Credit Cards,
Entertainment
By Associated Press
(Andy Kropa/Getty Images)
The Kardashian sisters are seeking to cut ties with a venture that sold prepaid debit cards under their name after coming under attack for the card’s high fees.
The card, which launched last month, was aimed at young adults, the same group that watches the sisters’ hit cable TV show “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.”
An attorney for the sisters sent a letter Monday to parties affiliated with the card demanding they stop using the names and images of the three sisters. Get the full story »
Nov. 29, 2010 at 4:15 p.m.
Filed under:
Regulations,
Retirement
By Reuters
The Department of Labor on Monday proposed a rule that will require employers to provide more information to their employees about the role of “target date” mutual funds in retirement plans.
Target date funds are often included in employer-sponsored retirement plans, such as 401(k)s, as a default option if employees fail to actively pick their own investments. Get the full story »
Nov. 29, 2010 at 4:10 p.m.
Filed under:
Beverages,
Food,
Packaged foods,
Updated
By Reuters
Starbucks Corp. and Kraft Foods began airing a messy divorce in public Monday, fighting over the dissolution of their partnership selling bags of Starbucks coffee at supermarkets.
Kraft said it had launched arbitration proceedings to challenge Starbucks’ attempt to end the agreement, sending shares of both companies lower.
At stake for Kraft is a partnership with $500 million in annual sales and strong profit margins. Starbucks may have to pay more than $1 billion to buy back the business and run it, a risky move for a company known for operating coffee shops, not selling packaged goods. Get the full story »
Nov. 29, 2010 at 3:22 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos
By Reuters
Toyota will pay to fix about 378,000 Prius models in the United States for a coolant pump glitch that could cause the top-selling hybrid to overheat and lose power, the automaker said on Monday.
The repair campaign for Prius models built from 2004 to 2007 was detailed in a notice for Toyota’s U.S. dealers.
The Japanese automaker said it had not received any reports of accidents or injuries related to the defective water pump on the Prius. Get the full story »
Nov. 29, 2010 at 2:59 p.m.
Filed under:
Investing,
M&A
By Reuters
Alberto Culver has agreed to settle a shareholder lawsuit over the beauty care company’s proposed $3.7 billion takeover by Unilever NV, lawyers for the investors said.
The settlement is designed to address concerns that the merger agreement might have dissuaded prospective competing acquirers from making better takeover bids, the shareholders’ lawyers said. Get the full story »
Nov. 29, 2010 at 2:58 p.m.
Filed under:
Chicago executives,
Insurance,
Personnel moves
By Becky Yerak
Allstate Corp. has hired a high-level Willis Group executive to head its emerging business unit.
The Northbrook-based auto and home insurer confirmed Monday that it has hired Don Bailey as senior vice president of emerging businesses, the unit that was set up in 2007 and includes a motor club and coverage for jet skis, motorcycles, boats and commercial vehicles.
Bailey was previously chairman and chief executive of Willis North America, part of the worldwide insurance brokerage Willis Group Holdings. Get the full story »
Nov. 29, 2010 at 2:47 p.m.
Filed under:
International,
Policy,
Politics,
Taxes,
Trade
By Reuters
Top U.S. and South Korean trade officials will meet Tuesday and Wednesday in Columbia, Maryland to try again to resolve differences blocking U.S. approval of a free trade agreement, U.S. officials said. Get the full story »
Nov. 29, 2010 at 2:38 p.m.
Filed under:
Exchanges,
Investing
By Reuters
BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research, a division of Bank of America Corp, on Monday introduced an index it said would more accurately gauge market risk than the commonly used Volatility Index, or VIX, Wall Street’s favorite barometer of investor anxiety. Get the full story »
Nov. 29, 2010 at 2:20 p.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Government
By Associated Press
Fiji Water on Monday closed its operations in the South Pacific country that gives the popular bottled drink its name, saying it was being singled out by the military appointed government for a massive tax increase.
A company statement announcing the decision did not say whether the company was shutting down permanently in Fiji, where an acquifer deep underground has been the source of one of the world’s most popular bottled water brands.
The company, owned by California entrepreneurs Lynda and Stewart Resnick, said it was closing its facility in Fiji, canceling orders from suppliers and putting on hold several construction contracts in the country. Get the full story »
Nov. 29, 2010 at 2:06 p.m.
Filed under:
Banking
Bloomberg
CCC Information Services Inc., a Chicago-based claims information and processing services provider owned by Investcorp Bank, is seeking $400 million in loans to refinance debt, Bloomberg News is reporting, citing two people familiar with the negotiations. Get the full story »
Nov. 29, 2010 at 1:53 p.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Health care
By Associated Press
Congress has agreed to a one-month delay in Medicare payment cuts to doctors, giving a short-term reprieve to a looming crisis over treatment of the nation’s elderly.
Get the full story »
Nov. 29, 2010 at 1:42 p.m.
Filed under:
Media
By Associated Press
After chewing up television with its wildly popular Shark Week, Discovery Communications aims to snatch an even bigger bite for its popular franchise: comic books.
The parent company of Discovery Channel and Animal Planet hopes to make a big splash when it releases its first comic book, “Top 10 Deadliest Sharks.” The book — dubbed a nonfiction graphic novel — comes out Dec. 1 and is being published by Philadelphia’s Zenescope Entertainment under the Silver Dragon Books imprint.
Get the full story »
Nov. 29, 2010 at 1:33 p.m.
Filed under:
Retail
By CNN
Online shoppers turned out in force on Cyber Monday — the day after a strong holiday shopping weekend — with a retail group predicting a 10 percent increase over last year.
Merchant Web sites drew 1,333,336 global page visits per minute during the noon ET hour, according to e-commerce tracking company Akamai. While that was a solid number, it was actually a little below the noontime peak of 1,337,601 page visits per minute globally three days earlier, on Black Friday, which is supposed to be the big day for traditional stores.
Get the full story »
Nov. 29, 2010 at 1:19 p.m.
Filed under:
Credit Cards
By Becky Yerak
Swiping your plastic is becoming a thing of the past.
Riverwoods-based credit card company Discover said it began issuing Discover Zip contactless credit cards and stickers on Nov. 15.
The way it works, consumers touch a payment device, which is in the form of either a plastic card or a sticker that can be applied to a mobile phone or any personal item, to a Zip-enabled contactless reader to make a payment. Currently, more than 100,000 U.S. locations, including restaurants, gas stations and convenience stores, offer contactless readers that accept Zip transactions at cash registers. Get the full story »
Nov. 29, 2010 at 11:53 a.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Investing
By Reuters
A team of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney brokers in northern New York state, the Morgia Group, last week joined HighTower Advisors, a Chicago firm that is adding veteran advisers across the United States. Get the full story »
