Boeing says Turkish Airlines has exercised options for 15 new 737s with a list value of $1.2 billion. Get the full story »
United, Continental hike fares $10
United and Continental are raising some U.S. airfares by $10 per round trip. Airfare experts said that as of midday Friday, other airlines had not matched the higher prices. Get the full story »
Von Maur to add Dry Goods store at Woodfield
Von Maur Inc. plans to expand Dry Goods, its fledgling fast-fashion format, with a store at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg this summer.
The family-run department store from Davenport, Iowa, opened its first Dry Goods store last fall at Fox Valley Mall in Aurora. Get the full story »
Verizon finishes $1.1B offer for ‘cloud’ provider
Verizon Communications Inc. said it has completed a $1.1 billion tender offer for Terremark Worldwide Inc., a provider of “cloud computing” services. Get the full story »
Snoop Dogg slingin’ Four Loco rival, Blast
Look out, Four Loko. There’s a fruity-booze rival coming to the market — Blast from Colt 45 — and rapper Snoop Dogg is its pitch man.
Blast, produced by Pabst Blue Ribbon’s Colt 45, is an alcoholic drink but does not contain caffeine, the ingredient that got Four Loko and a group of partying college students in trouble last year. Get the full story »
Pepsi preparing to launch mid-calorie pop
PepsiCo Inc. is getting ready to slim down this summer by offering a mid-calorie version of its Pepsi Cola, an industry publication reported Friday.
The new drink, called Pepsi Next, will have 40 calories per 8-ounce serving, or 60 calories per 12-ounce can, according to Beverage Digest. Get the full story »
American Apparel says it’s facing Chapter 11 — or 7
Los Angeles-based retailer American Apparel Inc. warned that it could seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, or even be forced to liquidate under Chapter 7, as its financial woes deepen. Get the full story »
Dish, Icahn reportedly make bids for Blockbuster
Dish Network Corp., the satellite-television company controlled by Charlie Ergen, and billionaire investor Carl Icahn have each submitted bids for Blockbuster Inc. before a bankruptcy court auction next week, said people familiar with the matter. Get the full story »
Gmail goes more interactive — for April Fool’s
Google goes through the motions of Gmail April Fool's prank.
Google Motion | In time for Aprils Fool’s Day, Google says it’s updated its Gmail to respond to motion commands — no more drag and click, just mug for the webcam. It’s only a joke but with the Kinect controller for Xbox systems, who knows?
Automakers trimmed incentives in March
Average per-vehicle incentives from U.S. auto makers slid 8.6 percent in March from February and declined 17 percent from a year earlier, according to car-shopping site Edmunds.com. Get the full story »
House GOP seeks to skirt Senate on budget cuts
Stuck in a budget quagmire with Senate Democrats and President Barack Obama, House Republicans are suggesting they can run the government without them. Get the full story »
Risky subprime bonds making a comeback
Subprime and other residential mortgage bonds that helped trigger the financial crisis are back in vogue with long-term investors, in the latest sign that American credit markets are healing after the worst downturn in a generation. Get the full story »
No summer shutdown at Normal Mitsubishi plant
The Mitsubishi plant in central Illinois will be skipping its traditional summer production shutdown for the first time this year, due to a new order for rental-fleet vehicles. Get the full story »
U.S. jobless rate falls to 8.8%, a 2-year low
An applicant at a Chicago area job fair. (Tribune)
The unemployment rate fell to a two-year low of 8.8 percent in March and companies added workers at the fastest two-month pace since before the recession began.
The Labor Department says the economy added 216,000 new jobs last month, offsetting layoffs a local governments. Factories, retailers, education, health care and an array of professional and financial services expanded payrolls. Get the full story »
EU appealing WTO victory in Boeing dispute
The European Union is appealing its own victory in a trade ruling against Chicago-based Boeing Co. by asking the World Trade Organization to toughen its condemnation of American subsidies for Boeing-made planes. Get the full story »
