From Crain’s Chicago Business | Illinois’ utility regulator has recommend that Commonwealth Edison Co. get a small fraction of the $400 million rate hike it requested. The Illinois Commerce Commission staff recommended a rate increase of $78 million, or roughly 7 percent on the average month residential electric bill. Get the full story>>
Nov. 5, 2010 at 2:19 p.m.
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Filed under: China, Crime, Food, Fraud, International, Packaged foods, Trade Honey executive sentenced to 30 months in prison
A honey import executive who pleaded guilty to conspiring to avoid more than $5 million in U.S. anti-dumping duties has been sentenced to 30 months in prison.
Hung Ta Fan, who also used the name Michael Fan, was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Chicago and was ordered to pay about $5.38 million in restitution. He pleaded guilty to the charges in August. Get the full story »
Another Qantas jet, a 747, has engine problems
A second Qantas Airways Ltd. plane made an emergency landing at Singapore’s Changi airport with engine problems, the Australian flag carrier said Friday.
“Shortly after takeoff, the aircraft operating at QF6 from Singapore to Sydney experienced an issue of one of its engines. As a precautionary measure, the captain sought primary clearance to return to Singapore and the aircraft landed safely a short time later without incident,” Qantas said in a statement. Get the full story »
Pending home sales fall after 2 months of gains
The number of people who signed contracts to buy homes fell in September after two months of gains, a possible fallout from foreclosure moratoriums that have disrupted activity in the housing market.
The National Association of Realtors said Friday that its index of sales agreements for previously occupied homes dropped 1.8 percent in September, to 80.9. Contract signings fell in every region except the West. Get the full story »
Fed easing to hit savers, pensioners
The Federal Reserve’s latest move to help the U.S. economy recover could punish pensioners and other long-term savers at the expense of helping large borrowers such as major corporations.
There’s also scant evidence to suggest that the move will help reduce unemployment, since U.S. companies are benefiting from record-low borrowing rates while the jobless rate remains stuck near 10 percent. Get the full story »
Fifth Third Bank beefs up executive ranks
Fifth Third Bank, which ranks eighth in deposit market share in the Chicago area, has made four new hires in the local market.
Emilio Di Cesare, 35, previously assistant vice president for HSBC, has been named vice president and business banking relationship manager. The graduate of DePaul University and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business lives in Roselle. Get the full story »
Battle brewing after Starbucks burns Kraft
(Charles Osgood/Chicago Tribune)
Kraft is apparently steamed by Starbucks’ announcement that it plans to fire the company as its grocery store distributor.
On Thursday night, Kraft Foods Inc. said its agreement to supply packaged Starbucks coffee to grocery stores “is perpetual…if Starbucks decides to exit its relationship with Kraft Foods, the agreement requires Starbucks to pay Kraft Foods the fair market value of the business plus, in certain instances, a premium.”
Starbucks fired back today with a company statement saying, “We consider it unfortunate that Kraft has chosen to make public statements that we believe mischaracterize the nature of the agreement between our companies, including the term of the agreement.” The statement went on to note that the companies’ agreement contains a clause for the resolution of disputes. Both companies maintain that regardless of how their relationship is terminated, customers shouldn’t expect service interruptions.
Nov. 5, 2010 at 11:33 a.m.
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Filed under: Cell phones, Consumer electronics, Corporate governance, Technology BlackBerry’s corporate dominance may be eroding
Shares in Research In Motion slipped more than 3 percent on Friday morning as investors fretted the BlackBerry smartphone’s stranglehold on corporate communications was being eroded by rival devices. Get the full story »
Kraft shares fall 2.4% on outlook, Starbucks spat
Kraft Foods Inc. shares fell 2.4 percent on Friday, a day after the packaged foods company said its 2011 forecast included an extra week.
The maker of Maxwell House coffee, Cadbury chocolate and Velveeta cheese also said that Starbucks wants to end the companies’ 12-year-old deal whereby Kraft sells packaged Starbucks coffee. Get the full story »
BP gains, with traders citing Exxon bid talk
Shares in BP gained on Friday, with traders citing talk that Exxon Mobil was considering a bid for the oil company.
By 10:29 a.m. EDT, BP shares were up 1.1 percent at 450 pence, having hit an intraday high of 451.35 pence on the rumor. Get the full story »
Dish Network profit, sales beat estimates
Dish Network Corp, the second-biggest U.S. TV satellite operator, posted higher-than-expected quarterly profit and sales as its existing customers spent more on its services. Get the full story »
Mortgage investors sue Citi over underwriting
Several Citigroup Inc. mortgage bond investors, including Charles Schwab Corp. and hedge fund Cambridge Place Investment Management, have sued the bank over its home loan underwriting processes, according to a regulatory filing on Friday. Get the full story »
Some channels blocked on AT&T U-Verse
By Steve Cavendish | AT&T’s U-verse service dropped Food Network, HGTV, Cooking Channel and other Scripps networks from its lineup Friday morning after the two sides could not reach a carriage agreement.
The channels were immediately replaced on thousands of U-verse customers’ receivers in the Chicago area.
Food Network and HGTV are among the most popular niche networks on cable, with their most popular shows reaching millions of viewers. Get the full story »
Power back on in Loop office buildings after fire
An electrical fire in a Commonwealth Edison vault shut down power to two office buildings for almost four hours.
Power was restored to the building at 150 North Wacker Drive at 8:18 a.m., and several minutes later to 110 North Wacker, but not before employers sent some workers home. Get the full story >>
