Integra Bank Corp. said its banking unit may not be able to meet regulatory capital directives within the stipulated 90-day period and reported its tenth straight quarterly loss.
The Evansville, Indiana-based company, which has been selling assets and branches in a bid to improve its capital levels, said it continues to seek buyers for its Chicago-area branches. Get the full story »
General Motors confirmed on Wednesday that it has dropped one of the proposed underwriters of its initial public offering due to an “unauthorized” e-mail sent by an employee of the bank. Get the full story »
General Growth Properties plans to resume paying dividends early next year, after the second-largest U.S. mall operator emerged from bankruptcy and spun off a new company, Howard Hughes Corp.
Citing a higher-than-expected cash stake, General Growth also said it expects to retire $570 million of obligations by paying cash, avoiding the potential issuance of more than 50 million common shares. Get the full story »
General Motors posted a $2 billion third-quarter profit Wednesday, driven by an accelerating turnaround in North America as it rushes to complete an initial public offering of stock set for next week. The quarterly profit was the largest for GM since it emerged from bankruptcy in July 2009 and provides the last piece of financial data for investors evaluating the automaker’s $13 billion IPO.
GM said it expected to post solidly profitable results for 2010, its first full-year profit since 2004.
Get the full story »
One test model Boeing 787 passes another on the tarmac before a flight from Boeing Field Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Chicago-based Boeing halted test flights of its long-delayed 787 Dreamliner on Wednesday, a day after smoke in the cockpit forced an emergency landing in Texas.
“We have decided to not fly the other airplanes until we better understand the incident,” said Boeing spokeswoman Loretta Gunter. “Whether this lasts all day or shorter or longer remains to be seen. The teams will focus on ground test objectives in the meantime.”
The incident, which involved a runway evacuation of those on board the flight, knocked shares 3.4 percent lower to $66.90 in early trade on the New York Stock Exchange as investors pondered the likelihood of another delay to the program, which is already nearly three years behind schedule. Get the full story »
The good news is that more than half of Illinois counties saw gains in median home sale prices during the third quarter. The bad news is that most of the Chicago area played no part in that good news.
In Cook County, the median selling price fell 14.3 percent during the three months that ended in September, a combination of a 16.3 percent price decline in condos and a 7.9 percent drop in single-family home prices, according to data released Wednesday by the Illinois Association of Realtors. Other counties that experienced price declines were Kane, where the median price fell 13.3 percent; Kendall, down 8.3 percent; and McHenry, down 3.7 percent. Get the full story »
ELITE STREET | By Bob Goldsborough | Former Chicago Cubs pitcher Ted Lilly on Tuesday cut the asking price of his five-bedroom, 5,400-square-foot house just west of Wrigley Field from $2.4 million to $2.1 million. Lilly, 34, was traded by the Cubs to the Los Angeles Dodgers in late July. Get the full story »
There’s new hope for employees who haven’t seen a raise since the collapse of the economy. According to a recent CareerBuilder survey, nearly a third of employers are willing to negotiate salary increases in 2011 over concerns that talented employees will look to leave their organizations once the economy improves.
Some industries faired better than others — with IT employers, retail, sales, professional and business services reporting that they were the most willing to negotiate raises. Get the full story »
Chicago-based Accretive Health, a health care financial services company, will open a new processing facility at 231 S. LaSalle Street, adding 650 jobs over 10 years, the company announced this week.
The company currently employs 175 people at its headquarters at 401 N. Michigan Ave. and said the new offices will be home to a B2B center, offering employees full-time jobs with benefits and an average salary of $35,000 per year. Get the full story »
Former President George W. Bush said Wednesday he has a “clear conscience” about recognizing the problems that led to the financial crisis and he blamed Congress for blocking attempts to address them.
Bush, who initially kept a low-profile after leaving the White House, has been doing a series of high-profile interviews to promote his newly released memoir, “Decision Points.” Get the full story »
From the Daily Herald | Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium said Tuesday its ocean mammal area will be called the Abbott Oceanarium. The renaming recognizes significant support provided for the Shedd Aquarium by the North Chicago-based pharmaceutical giant and its philanthropic foundation the Abbott Fund. Get the full story>>
Macy’s Inc. said Wednesday it turned a profit in the third quarter after a loss a year ago, boosted by tailoring merchandise to local markets and higher spending from wealthier customers at its Bloomingdale’s chain. Get the full story »
Wendy's new fries. (Wendy's)
With an eye toward appealing to foodies, Wendy’s is remaking its fries with Russett potatoes, leaving the skin on and sprinkling sea salt on top as it changes its menu to focus on “real” ingredients to win more fans.
The first move in the strategy was a new line of salads such as Apple Pecan Chicken in the summer. Now, the fries, which first appear on Thursday and roll out over the next two weeks. This is the first major overhaul of the 41-year-old company’s fries, although it has adjusted the recipe in the past. Get the full story »
Reports: Weekly jobless claims, 7:30 a.m.; Iinternational trade for September, 7:30 a.m.; Federal budget for October, 1 p.m.
Major earnings: Cisco Systems Inc., General Motors Co., Macy’s Inc., Sara Lee Corp.
Events: 100 leading CEOs of global corporations gather for the Seoul G-20 Business Summit.
A home with price reduction on the market in October. (Reuters)
The number of Chicago-area homes with negative equity in the Chicago area continued to rise in the year’s third quarter, a troubling sign for a local housing market struggling to recover.
Some 32.9 percent of all local single-family detached homes with mortgages were underwater in September, meaning the homeowners owed more on the loans than the properties are worth, according to new data from realty Web site Zillow.com. That compares with 30.9 percent in June and 27.2 percent in September 2009. The report does not include data on condominiums. Get the full story »
