From Bloomberg | The Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index increased 0.7 percent in October, to a seasonally adjusted level of 80.9.
First Wind Holdings withdraws proposed IPO
Wind energy company First Wind Holdings Inc. said Wednesday that it will withdraw the registration for its initial public offering, citing “unfavorable market conditions.” Get the full story »
Philanthropists feel less pinched as economy revives
The sour economy’s dampening effect on philanthropy may be lessening, according to a survey of 2,300 public charities and 160 private foundations released today.
Thirty-seven percent of the organizations reported decreased contributions in the first nine months of 2010, compared with 51 percent who reported declines in the first three quarters of 2009.
And 36 percent reported increased donations, up from 23 percent in the same period last year. Get the full story »
Retailers are counting on Cyber Monday
A worker at online retailer Zappos. (Isaac Brekken/Los Angeles Times)
U.S. retailers who saw strong online sales as the holiday selling season kicked off over the weekend aim to cash in further on that momentum with Cyber Monday, one of the biggest days for Web commerce.
The term Cyber Monday was coined five years ago for the day many people return to work after U.S. Thanksgiving Day and make online gift purchases on their computers.
More recently, retailers have been increasingly offering online deals on Thanksgiving itself and through the holiday weekend, as consumers regularly shop on the Internet. Get the full story »
Obama to announce pay freeze for federal workers
President Barack Obama will announce a two-year pay freeze for federal employees that the White House says is necessary to put the country on sound fiscal footing.
Illinois leads week’s debt issuers with $1.5 billion
From Bloomberg | Illinois and New York issuers will offer $4.7 billion of this week’s municipal debt with scheduled sales 52 percent higher than the same week last year, as local governments seek to place deals before the end of 2010.
Zagat: Continental’s premium-class service is No. 1
Premium-class service on Continental Airlines was ranked No. 1 for the third year in a row by frequent fliers surveyed by Zagat.com.
The airline is part of Chicago-based United Continental Holdings Inc. since its Oct. 1 merger with United Airlines.
Runners-up on premium-class service among major airlines were American, Delta, United and AirTran, in that order. Get the full story »
OptionsXpress to pay special cash dividend
Online brokerage optionsXpress Holdings Inc. said it will return about $259 million to shareholders as special dividend payout in the absence of “value-creating” acquisition opportunities. Get the full story »
Study reports a fall in mortgage-related jobs
Mortgage-related jobs slid in the third quarter, with the biggest net losses occurring in Maryland, Illinois and Oregon, according to an index published by MortgageDaily.com.
With 3,216 layoffs and 2,286 hires, the net loss was 930 jobs. For the first three quarters of the year, there has been a net gain of 524 jobs.
This flattening comes after a modest rebound last year, following two years of dramatic job losses. In 2005, more than half a million people worked in mortgage lending, and less than half are left now, MortgageDaily.com reports. Get the full story »
Nov. 29, 2010 at 8:31 a.m.
Filed under: Cost of ‘12 Days of Christmas’ nears $100,000
In the unlikely event that your Christmas list this year includes every item mentioned in “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” be prepared to pay nearly $100,000.
Trying to buy the 364 items repeated in all the song’s verses — from 12 drummers drumming to a partridge in a pear tree — would cost $96,824, an increase of 10.8 percent over last year, according to the annual Christmas Price Index compiled by PNC Wealth Management. Get the full story »
Card delinquencies fall on lower consumer use
(Nhat V. Meyer/San Jose Mercury News/MCT)
The nation’s credit-card delinquency rate fell in the third quarter, to 0.83 percent, according to a report by Chicago-based credit reporting firm TransUnion. This represents a 9.8 percent decrease from the previous quarter in terms of borrowers whose accounts are 90 days or more delinquent, and a 24.6 percent decline from the year-ago quarter.
TransUnion also estimates that 8 million consumers stopped actively using bank-issued credit cards in the past year.
The trends stem in part from some seriously delinquent debt being classified as uncollectable, and in part by more conservative spending in lower risk segments of the population, the company said. Get the full story »
ComEd fighting Illinois conservation effort
From Crain’s Chicago Business | Exelon’s Commonwealth Edison Co. is the chief opponent of an Illinois Power Agency proposal that would to help the largest consumers of electricity finance major capital projects that would allow them to cut usage. Such cuts would hurt ComEd’s revenue and potentially reduce wholesale power prices. Get the full story>>
Sara Lee to buy regional Brazilian coffee company
Sara Lee Corp. said Monday it agreed to buy Cafe Damasco, a small Brazilian coffee company, for roughly $60 million as it looks to strengthen its position in South America’s largest country. Cafe Damasco has a leading position in the southern Brazilian state of Parana, and 2009 net sales of about $60 million. Get the full story »
Tampa drugmaker buys rights to Baxter cancer drug
A Tampa, Fla. company said it has purchased the rights to use a cancer drug made by Baxter International Inc. in its development of medicines to combat a “broad range of autoimmune diseases” including multiple sclerosis. Get the full story »
