Nov. 4, 2010 at 5:51 a.m.
Filed under:
M&A
By Associated Press
Unilever NV, one of the world’s largest makers of consumer products such as Dove soaps, Lipton teas and Ben & Jerry’s ice creams, Thursday reported third-quarter earnings rose 19 percent to $1.75 billion on sales growth, cost-cutting, and the weak euro, which more than offset higher raw materials costs.
Unilever said it expects to close a $1,85 billion purchase of Sara Lee’s personal care products division, which is being examined closely by European regulators, in the fourth quarter. It has also agreed to buy Alberto Culver, the U.S. maker of Noxzema, TRESemme and V05, for $3.7 billion. Get the full story »
Nov. 4, 2010 at 5:30 a.m.
Filed under:
Reports: Weekly jobless claims, 7:30 a.m.; Third-quarter productivity data, 7:30 a.m.; Freddie Mac weekly mortgage rates; Retailers release sales data for October.
Major earnings: Activision Blizzard Inc., Alcatel-Lucent , Cablevision Systems Corp., CBS Corp., Kraft Foods Inc.,
Live Nation Entertainment Inc., Nissan Motor Co., Starbucks Corp., Time Warner Cable Inc.
Nov. 3, 2010 at 5:49 p.m.
Filed under:
Regulations
By Reuters
The U.S. futures regulator is unlikely to unveil its new proposal to limit speculative positions until December, a top official of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission told Reuters on Wednesday. Get the full story »
Nov. 3, 2010 at 5:39 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
IPOs
By Reuters
General Motors on Wednesday finalized terms for a stock offering of about $13 billion to repay a controversial taxpayer-funded bailout and reduce the U.S. Treasury to a minority shareholder.
GM’s filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is the final step before it begins marketing what is expected to be one of the largest-ever IPOs. The investors are expected to span the globe and include sovereign wealth funds.
The automaker plans to sell 365 million common shares, or 24 percent of its common stock, at $26 to $29 each, raising about $10 billion at the midpoint, according to updated initial public offering papers filed with the SEC. Get the full story »
By Reuters
The Canadian government on Wednesday blocked BHP Billiton’s $39 billion bid for Potash Corp., the world’s biggest producer of a key crop nutrient, halting what had been the world’s biggest takeover attempt this year and sending Potash Corp. shares tumbling.
Ottawa said the Anglo-Australian miner’s takeover bid offered no likely net benefit to the country as required by Canadian law. BHP has 30 days to make additional representations to the Canadian government before the decision is final. Get the full story »
Nov. 3, 2010 at 5:23 p.m.
Filed under:
Exchanges,
Policy,
Regulations
By Reuters
Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler says he’s so close to his counterpart at the Securities and Exchange Commmision that SEC Chief Mary Schapiro gave him a treat a couple weeks back.
“Mary and I talk often,” he told a crowd at the Futures Industry Association’s annual meeting in Chicago. “It was my birthday a few weeks ago. She made me cupcakes. They were good cupcakes too, and they were homemade!”
Schapiro and Gensler have taken great pains to publicly show they are working together instead of feuding over turf, as their agencies historically often did. Get the full story »
Nov. 3, 2010 at 5:06 p.m.
Filed under:
Bank failures,
Banking
By Becky Yerak
FirstMerit, the Akron-based bank that has become a Top 20 player in the Chicago area through three recent acquisitions, said it expects the pace of Illinois bank failures to pick up again. Get the full story »
Nov. 3, 2010 at 5:03 p.m.
Filed under:
Earnings,
Insurance
By Associated Press
Life insurer and annuity provider Prudential Financial Inc. Wednesday posted a 7 percent profit increase in the third quarter as its retirement and investment businesses improved. Get the full story »
Nov. 3, 2010 at 4:45 p.m.
Filed under:
Chicago executives,
Insurance,
Personnel moves
By Associated Press
Unitrin Inc. said Wednesday that it named Dennis R. Vigneau as chief financial officer and senior vice president.
Nov. 3, 2010 at 4:41 p.m.
Filed under:
Chicago executives,
Retail
By Associated Press
The CEO of Walgreen Co. made nearly 30 percent more in fiscal 2010 because of a boost in his performance-related bonus as the nation’s largest drugstore chain improved profits and revenue despite the down economy.
Nov. 3, 2010 at 4:14 p.m.
Filed under:
Earnings,
Economy,
Food,
Retail
By Associated Press
A Whole Foods in Santa Rosa, Ca. (John Burgess/Tribune)
Whole Foods Market Inc. more than doubled its fourth-quarter net income as sales rose, prompting the grocer to raise its full-year outlook on Wednesday.
The news sent natural and organic grocer’s shares soaring in after-hours trading.
Whole Foods, based in Austin, Texas, reported that its net income available to common shareholders rose to $57.5 million, or 33 cents per share, for the quarter that ended Sept. 26. That’s up from $28.7 million, or 20 cents per share, in the same period last year.
Nov. 3, 2010 at 4:09 p.m.
Filed under:
Privacy issues,
Technology,
Updated
By Reuters
Facebook said some of its applications violated the social networking company’s policies against sharing user information, and promised to fix the problem.
Most transfers of information to other companies were inadvertent, Facebook Vice President Marne Levine wrote in a letter released on Wednesday and dated October 29.
Levine in the letter said Facebook would fix the problem. Get the full story »
Nov. 3, 2010 at 3:56 p.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Law firms,
Taxes,
Updated
By Ameet Sachdev
The U.S. government has sued a Chicago lawyer, who was a partner at Seyfarth Shaw, to stop him from peddling allegedly sham tax shelters involving Brazilian consumer debt.
The Justice Department said Wednesday that since at least 2003 John E. Rogers has devised illegal tax schemes for more than 100 customers who have claimed more than $370 million in improper tax deductions. Get the full story »
Nov. 3, 2010 at 3:52 p.m.
Filed under:
Investing,
Venture capital
By Becky Yerak
Illinois companies are having a good year when it comes to venture capital firms investing in their businesses.
Venture-capital investors put $123 million into 10 Illinois-based businesses in the third quarter of 2010, according to figures released Wednesday by Dow Jones VentureSource. That compares with $15 million invested in five businesses in the same period in 2009.
The third quarter’s investment total was helped by a $65 million deal for Skokie-based NanoInk, a nano tech firm. Its backers included Lurie Investments. Get the full story »
Nov. 3, 2010 at 3:09 p.m.
Filed under:
Cell phones,
Internet,
Telecommunications,
Wireless
By Reuters
Facebook plans to expand and simplify its mobile platform for the 200 million users who access the world’s largest social network from their cell phones, but denied persistent rumors it was developing its own phone.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Wednesday that the social network, which has tripled its mobile users from just 65 million a year ago, will also make its Facebook Places physical location-based feature available on Google Android-based smartphones. Get the full story »
