Nov. 4, 2010 at 10:09 a.m.
Filed under:
Airlines,
M&A
By Julie Johnsson
American Express said Thursday it was paying $150 million to acquire Accertify Inc., an Itasca-based firm that specializes in fighting online fraud.
Founded in 2007 by Jeff Liesendahl and other veterans of Orbitz, Accertify provides airlines and other online merchants with an extra layer of security to help them combat identity theft and credit-card fraud.
The firm’s customers include Delta, JetBlue and Southwest Airlines and Sony, 1-800 Flowers, Barnes & Noble, Urban Outfitters, Electronic Arts, StubHub, Tickets.com, Autotrader and Zipcar. Get the full story »
Nov. 4, 2010 at 9:54 a.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Manufacturing,
Transportation
By Reuters
FreightCar America Inc. posted a much wider-than-expected quarterly loss, hurt by challenging market conditions and low demand for coal-carrying railcars, and said it expects tough competition to continue to hurt pricing. Get the full story »
Nov. 4, 2010 at 9:39 a.m.
Filed under:
Airlines,
Airplanes,
Airports
By Associated Press
Qantas grounded its Airbus A380 fleet after one of the superjumbo jets blew out an engine Thursday, shooting flames and raining large metal chunks before making a safe emergency landing in Singapore with 459 people aboard. Get the full story »
Nov. 4, 2010 at 8:19 a.m.
Filed under:
Advertising/Marketing
From USA Today | Convenience store chain 7-Eleven has offered to provide the White House with purple Slurpees — mixing red and blue — seizing on an opportunity created when President Barack Obama joked Wednesday that he might hold a “Slurpee Summit” with the new Republican leadership.
“This is a rare opportunity for a brand,” says Margaret Chabris, a spokeswoman for 7-Eleven, which owns 44-year-old Slurpee soft frozen drink. “We don’t want to be opportunistic, but nothing has ever been this big for Slurpee.” Get the full story >>
Nov. 4, 2010 at 8:12 a.m.
Filed under:
Internet,
Retail,
Telecommunications
By Associated Press
If you use Facebook to “check in” to your favorite restaurants or shops, you can now expect to see rewards and discounts from companies looking to drum up business and lure in loyal customers.
Facebook is looking to bridge online advertising with people’s offline behavior as it announced a service called “Deals.” It’s an extension of Places, the check-in feature the company unveiled this year. Rising with the explosive growth of smart phones, services based on people’s location help them find coupons, earn quirky merit badges or simply share with friends where they are. Get the full story »
Nov. 4, 2010 at 8:04 a.m.
Filed under:
Consulting,
Law firms,
M&A
By Ameet Sachdev
Huron Consulting Group expanded its legal consulting unit in Europe and the Middle East with the acquisition of London-based Trilantic International Ltd. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Get the full story »
Nov. 4, 2010 at 7:52 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Jobs/employment,
Layoffs
By Associated Press
The number of people seeking jobless benefits jumped sharply last week, after two straight weeks of declines. The Labor Department said Thursday that initial claims for unemployment aid rose by 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 457,000 for the week ending Oct. 30. Wall Street analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected a smaller rise.
Nov. 4, 2010 at 7:44 a.m.
Filed under:
Cell phones,
Earnings,
Wireless
By Dow Jones Newswires
Third-quarter earnings at Telephone & Data Systems Inc. and its U.S. Cellular Corp. business rose, with U.S. Cellular losing more subscribers than a year earlier.
Both companies topped analysts’ expectations and adjusted their revenue outlooks for the full year. U.S. Cellular narrowed its target while TDS raised its to $785 million to $800 million from $760 million to $790 million as the company also expects higher profit than before. Get the full story »
Nov. 4, 2010 at 7:37 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Jobs/employment
By Associated Press
The Labor Department says productivity grew at an annual rate of 1.9 percent in the third quarter, a rebound from a decline of 1.8 percent in the second quarter. That was the biggest drop in nearly four years. Labor costs fell at a 0.1 percent rate in the third quarter after having risen 1.3 percent in the second quarter.
Nov. 4, 2010 at 7:31 a.m.
Filed under:
Defense,
Jobs/employment
By Associated Press
Despite the urging of two federal lawmakers, Olin Corp. says it is moving an ammunition plant and 1,000 jobs from Illinois to Mississippi. The Clayton, Mo.-based Olin said Wednesday that its Winchester Centerfire Operations in East Alton will be relocated to Oxford, Miss. Get the full story »
Nov. 4, 2010 at 7:25 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Retail
By Associated Press
Retailers are reporting solid revenue gains for October. But it took heavy discounting on coats and other cold-weather items to get shoppers to spend amid unusually warm temperatures.
Analysts are concerned about the holiday shopping season as shoppers, grappling with job worries, are likely to wait until the last minute to get the best deals.
Nov. 4, 2010 at 7:19 a.m.
Filed under:
Earnings
By Reuters
Specialty business printers maker Zebra Technologies Corp. posted a third-quarter profit that topped Wall Street view, driven by a 37 percent growth in hardware sales, and forecast fourth-quarter earnings above estimates. Get the full story »
Nov. 4, 2010 at 7:13 a.m.
Filed under:
Airlines,
Tourism,
Travel
By Reuters
Online travel agency Orbitz Worldwide Inc. posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit and forecast a 1-2 percent increase in full-year revenue as a rebounding travel industry lifts hotel and international air bookings. Orbitz, which owns travel sites Orbitz.com and Cheaptickets.com, said third-quarter net profit was $15.3 million, or 15 cents a share, compared with $7.0 million, or 8 cents a share, a year earlier. Get the full story »
Nov. 4, 2010 at 6:47 a.m.
Filed under:
Earnings,
Exchanges
By Reuters
CBOE Holdings Inc., which operates the biggest U.S. market for stock and stock-index options, said profit last quarter rose 41 percent, driven by new trading access fees and lower expenses. Get the full story »
Nov. 4, 2010 at 6:04 a.m.
Filed under:
Beverages,
Food,
Restaurants
By Associated Press
Burger King is looking to put some pep into its new breakfast push by giving out free cups of coffee every Friday morning this month. The goal is to promote the company’s new breakfast menu, which rolled out in September. The company launched a major marketing blitz, with the aim of eating up some of McDonald’s market-leading morning business. Get the full story »
