Broadwind Energy Inc., a company that provides equipment for the wind energy industry, said Monday it has hired the leader of Acciona SA’s North America division to be its next president and CEO. Get the full story »
Chicago to keep restaurant show
While the National Restaurant Association announced Monday that its high-profile trade show will stay put in Chicago through 2016, the city is not quite on terra firma yet.
The association will keep a close eye on whether a new state law aimed at cutting exhibitor costs at McCormick Place is fully implemented — a progression that could be derailed if two trade unions prevail in their challenge of the law in federal court.
“If something changes and the legislation is not able to be enacted the way it was designed and exhibitor rights go away, it becomes more difficult to explain why we would be in Chicago,” Mary Pat Heftman, executive vice president/convention for the association, said after a press conference announcing the new pact. Get the full story »
Discover, Telcos plan mobile payment venture
Mobile phone companies Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc and T-Mobile USA are poised to announce plans for a venture offering mobile payments services, people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.
Discover Financial Services and Barclays will also announce they are participating in the joint venture, which will allow consumers to pay for purchases with their cellphones, the people said. Get the full story »
New Facebook messaging takes on Google, Yahoo
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg talks about the 350 million active users daily of Facebook messaging in San Francisco, Nov. 15, 2010. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
In a bid to become the junction box for people’s digital communications, Facebook announced Monday it plans to launch a new communication platform intended to unify e-mail, instant messaging, text messaging and the social network’s existing message system through a single “social in-box.”
While each of the social network’s more than 500 million users will have the chance to get an @facebook.com e-mail address as the new service gradually rolls out to members in coming months, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the goal was not to create the world’s largest e-mail network, but to merge external e-mail, text messaging, instant messages and Facebook’s existing internal messaging service into a new kind of seamless communication system. Get the full story »
NBC shakes up ‘30 Rock’ and Thursday night
NBC will make Thursday an all-comedy night and move its two “Law & Order” dramas as part of a midseason shake-up.
The network announced Monday that it is shifting “30 Rock” and the freshman series “Outsourced” to the final hour of prime time starting Jan. 20. The rest of the night’s lineup, starting at 8 p.m. ET, will include “Community,” newcomer “Perfect Couples,” “The Office” and returning series “Parks and Recreation.” Get the full story »
FAA to pop for second O’Hare control tower
Crain’s Chicago Business | The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday that it will pay for a second control tower at O’Hare International Airport as part of the second phase of updates there. The agency also paid for a tower in Phase I.
FDA seeks concerted response to defibrillator woes
Federal health officials are calling on manufacturers of heart-zapping defibrillators to fix long-standing problems with the emergency devices that have triggered dozens of recalls and led to injuries and death.
The Food and Drug Administration said Monday that the devices have been plagued by design and manufacturing flaws for years, occasionally failing in life-and-death situations. Get the full story »
Nov. 15, 2010 at 1:10 p.m.
Comments Off
Filed under: Cell phones, Technology, Telecommunications, Wireless Motorola to split in January
Motorola will separate into two publicly traded companies in January 2011, co-Chief Executive Greg Brown said Monday.
The Schaumburg-based company had said it was targeting the first quarter of next year for the split. Monday’s announcement, made at a financial analysts’ meeting in New York, marked the first time the company specified a timeframe in the first quarter. Get the full story »
Speculation swirls around streaming iTunes
Apple Inc. is set to make a major announcement Tuesday about iTunes, amid speculation about a possible Web-based version of the dominant digital music store.
Apple posted a message Monday on the iTunes Web site, teasing an announcement to be made at 10 a.m. Eastern Time Tuesday, but it gave few clues. Get the full story »
Rolls-Royce to swap out, repair leaky A380 engines
Rolls-Royce will temporarily replace engines that have oil leaks on the world’s largest jetliner after one motor disintegrated midair, an aviation regulator told The Associated Press on Monday.
The official said the British engine-maker would take off faulty engines and replace them with new ones. It will then fix the leaking part and swap the engine back again. Get the full story »
Comcast presents iPad app for mobile video
Comcast Corp. has unveiled an application for Apple Inc.’s iPad that allows its customers to watch videos, program their digital video recorders and more, as pay-television providers look to keep eyeballs on their offerings, whether in the home or not.
The cable- and satellite-TV business appears to have suffered its second consecutive quarterly subscriber decline during the summer, fueling concerns about the prospect of online video disrupting the media and entertainment industry’s most lucrative and dependable revenue model.
With its iPad application, Comcast joins a growing list of video streaming products from big-name media companies, including Dish Network Corp., Netflix Inc., Hulu and ABC, trying to catch the attention of a new generation of consumers, looking for content they can stream from the Internet to their new portable media devices. Get the full story »
Execs return to private planes as economy improves
Private planes at Teterboro Airport in Teterboro, N.J. (AP Photo/Jeff Zelevansky)
U.S. executives, including those at government-owned General Motors, are getting back on corporate planes as the economy slowly recovers.
While airlines still account for the majority of corporate travel, many businesses are gradually returning to private planes. They are eager to avoid airport hassles, flight delays and other potential logistical snags associated with commercial flying. For some companies, corporate jets are also a better value.
“We appear to be off the bottom,” said Dan Hubbard of the National Business Aviation Association trade group that represents companies that own and charter planes. “We seem to be seeing things stabilize at this point.” Get the full story »
Illinois Tool Works affirms full-year outlook
Illinois Tool Works Inc. said on Monday its operating revenue rose in the previous three months and stood by its forecasts for fourth-quarter and full-year earnings. Get the full story »
Nov. 15, 2010 at 11:25 a.m.
Comments Off
Filed under: Agriculture/Farming, International, M&A, Updated Potash Corp. ‘vindicated’ by scrapped BHP bid
Potash Corp. said it was vindicated in its decision to reject BHP Billiton’s offer of $130 a share as too cheap and was in a strong position to grow on its own.
Shares of Potash Corp. have traded consistently above the bid price, closing at $139.91 on Friday.
BHP Billiton scrapped its $39 billion bid for Canada’s Potash Corp. on Sunday and bowed to calls from investors to return cash, a move that came days after regulators blocked the year’s biggest takeover deal. Get the full story »
