A Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliner on Tuesday made an emergency landing in Laredo, Texas, after the crew reported smoke in the cabin during a test flight, according to the company and the Federal Aviation Administration.
The No. 2 plane of Boeing’s six-member test fleet was on a planned flight and routine approach to the Texas border city when a fire broke out in the rear of the cabin at about 2:50 p.m. local time. Get the full story »
San Francisco has become the first major American city to prohibit fast-food restaurants from including toys with children’s meals that do not meet nutritional guidelines.
The city’s Board of Supervisors voted 8-3 in favor of the measure Tuesday after giving it preliminary approval last week. That’s enough votes to survive a likely veto by Mayor Gavin Newsom.
Aon Corp.’s Chief Operating Officer Andrew Appel will step down at the end of the year, the world’s largest insurance brokerage said. Get the full story »
General Growth Properties Inc , the second-largest U.S. mall operator, said it has emerged from bankruptcy, one and a half years after becoming the biggest U.S. real estate company to seek Chapter 11 protection.
The Chicago-based operator of 183 shopping malls in 43 U.S. states said Tuesday it emerged from under protection from creditors after obtaining $6.8 billion of new capital and restructuring about $15 billion of debt.
General Growth operates properties, including the Ala Maona Center in Hawaii, Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston, Harborplace in Baltimore and Water Tower Place in Chicago. Get the full story »
Former BP chief Tony Hayward has acknowledged that the company was unprepared for the disastrous Gulf of Mexico oil spill and the media frenzy it spawned, and said the firm came close to financial disaster as its credit sources evaporated. Get the full story »
Hyatt Hotels Corp. defended its safety record Tuesday, following an announcement by the hotel workers union that it has filed complaints with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on behalf of Hyatt housekeepers.
The complaints are being filed on behalf of workers at 12 Hyatt properties, including four in Chicago, citing more than 780 injuries that have been recorded on OSHA logs at those hotels. Unite Here, the union filing the complaints, cited injury rates that are 50 percent higher than the rest of industry.
Robb Webb, chief human resources officer for Chicago-based Hyatt Hotels Corporation called Unite Here’s accusations of a dangerous work environment “false” and aimed at increasing union membership and dues. Get the full story »
Insurers Allstate Corp. and Prudential Financial announced plans to return cash to shareholders Tuesday with a stock buyback plan and dividend increase, respectively. Get the full story »
Microsoft Corp stepped up its legal battle with Motorola Inc on Tuesday, as the software company accused the phone maker of charging excessive royalties on network technology used in Microsoft’s Xbox game system. Get the full story »
Tribune Co. is asking a Delaware bankruptcy judge to approve up to $43 million in bonuses for top executives and managers this year.
The plan calls for some 640 people to receive bonuses totaling from $16.5 million to $42.9 million if certain cash flow targets are met. The request will be the subject of a hearing Wednesday.
Tribune scaled back the incentive plan this summer after complaints from creditors and an employees union. Get the full story »
From Bloomberg | Illinois is planning $1.5 billion in tobacco-bond sales as soon as Nov. 30 to pay bills and balance its budget. The bonds, to be backed by payments from a 1998 settlement with tobacco companies, will be sold the week after Thanksgiving.
Wisconsin governor-elect Scott Walker speaks to reporters Nov. 3, 2010. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)
High-speed rail projects in Wisconsin and Ohio appear close to derailment, with Wisconsin’s outgoing governor saying Monday he’ll leave the future of his state’s project to his Republican successor, who has vowed to kill it, and Ohio’s incoming governor saying again he plans scrap his state’s project.
Jim Doyle, Wisconsin’s outgoing Democratic governor, told The Associated Press that although he thinks a high-speed rail line to connect Milwaukee with Madison is a good idea, he feels obligated to leave the project’s future up to Republican Gov.-elect Scott Walker.
Minutes after Doyle made his comments, Walker said he remains opposed to the $810 million project. Get the full story »
Consumers will spend more this holiday on electronics than they have in each of the last 17 years, with laptops and Apple’s iPad topping wish lists, a leading industry trade group said Tuesday.
The average consumer will spend $232 on electronics gifts from TVs and MP3 players to cameras this year, up 5 percent from last year, according to a holiday phone survey of 1,003 U.S. adults conducted by the Consumer Electronics Association. Get the full story »
The Illinois Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit against Chicago-based Illinois Loan Modification LLC, Omega Business Center, its managers and related businesses, alleging that they preyed on residents of the Chicago-area’s Polish community by falsely promising mortgage and credit card relief.
The suit, filed Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court, charged that the companies and their affiliates charged upfront fees to consumers but the promised services were never provided and customers who canceled their contracts were not issued refunds. Get the full story »
The White House unveiled a new Home Energy Score federal program Tuesday that will allow people to determine how energy-efficient their homes are.
It was one of several energy initiatives that Vice President Joe Biden announced at a White House event Tuesday. Get the full story »
Women lawyers continue to lag behind their male counterparts in rank, clout and pay, according to a survey by The National Association of Women Lawyers, due in part to new structures at firms that limit opportunities for women to advance.
Now in its fifth year, the survey is the only national study of the nation’s 200 largest law firms that annually tracks the progress of women lawyers in private practice and collects data on firms as a whole rather than from a subset of individual lawyers. Get the full story »
