Nov. 1, 2010 at 3:33 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Policy,
Politics,
Small business
By Reuters
Small U.S. businesses stepped up borrowing in September, data released by PayNet Inc on Monday showed, suggesting the recovery is gaining steam even before the Federal Reserve Bank embarks on an expected new round of monetary stimulus.
The Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index, which measures the overall volume of financing to U.S. small businesses, rose 16 percent in September from a year earlier, PayNet said. The index rose 15 percent in August, and is now at the highest level in almost two years. Get the full story »
Nov. 1, 2010 at 3:22 p.m.
Filed under:
Consumer electronics,
Consumer news,
Retail
By McClatchy Tribune Newspapers
Wal-Mart shoppers wait in line on Dec. 21, 2009, at one of the retailer's stores in Ocoee, Fla., for Zhu Zhu toys. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/MCT)
After last Christmas, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. turned to its customers to find out how it could improve toy shopping this holiday season.
Moms told the nation’s largest retailer not to push Christmas toys until after Halloween passed and to give them more, not just $10 specials.
That was a price Wal-Mart promoted early and big in 2008 and 2009 in toys, books and DVDs, starting price wars in early October the last two years. Get the full story »
Nov. 1, 2010 at 3:07 p.m.
Filed under:
Insurance,
Jobs/employment,
Layoffs
By Bruce Japsen
Health Care Service Corp., the parent of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, confirmed the health plan operator was cutting 62 jobs as part of a restructuring across the country.
The Chicago-based health insurance company, the nation’s fourth-largest health insurer, operates Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in Illinois, Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma.
“As part of our ongoing efforts to strategically assess and align our business with the needs of the marketplace, we made the decision to restructure a few areas of the company,” said Illinois Blue Cross spokesman Jack Segal. Get the full story »
Nov. 1, 2010 at 2:54 p.m.
Filed under:
Internet,
Retail,
Updated
By Sandra M. Jones
Online retail sales rose a solid 9 percent in the third quarter, a healthy sign for Web merchants as they enter the holiday season.
Online retail spending rose 9 percent to $32.1 billion for the three months ended in September, compared to the same period a year ago, according to a comScore Inc. report released Monday. It is the fourth consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth, after a year of flat or declining sales, said the Chicago-based digital research firm. Get the full story »
Nov. 1, 2010 at 2:50 p.m.
Filed under:
Computers,
Internet,
Updated
By Dow Jones Newswires-Wall Street Journal
LinkedIn Corp. on Monday plans to launch a new recommendations service that will allow the social network’s more than 80 million members to post reviews of products and services linked to their professional profiles.
Participation is free and voluntary for companies, which would need to set up company profile pages and add products to be reviewed before users could leave a recommendation. The program has some 30 participating companies at launch, including JetBlue, Liberty Mutual Insurance, Microsoft Corp. and Harvard Business School Executive Education. Get the full story »
Daily Herald | Allstate has bought the former headquarters of HSBC Corp. in Prospect Heights. The insurance company said it would demolish the two buildings there immediately and hold the land for future development.
By Associated Press
Caterpillar Inc.’s new CEO Doug Oberhelman is now also chairman at the world’s largest maker of mining and construction equipment.
Oberhelman became chairman Monday after the retirement of Jim Owens. Get the full story »
Nov. 1, 2010 at 1:45 p.m.
Filed under:
Exchanges,
Investing,
Personnel moves,
Regulations
By Dow Jones Newswires
A former Manhattan-based federal prosecutor was appointed Monday as the new director of enforcement for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
David Meister, who is an attorney at Skadden Arps, will replace Acting Enforcement Director Vincent McGonagle. Before joining Skadden, Meisteer was an assistant U.S. attorney in New York’s Southern District, where he was on the office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Get the full story »
Nov. 1, 2010 at 1:09 p.m.
Filed under:
Exchanges,
Government,
Regulations
By Dow Jones Newswires
A regulator at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Monday called for trading curbs on financial futures such as the Standard & Poor’s 500 E-mini, saying they could help prevent a repeat of the flash crash.
In a speech at the University of Notre Dame, CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton said the agency has the authority to impose limits on how many financial futures contracts any one market player can hold, though he didn’t offer any details on what kind of limits might be appropriate. Get the full story »
Nov. 1, 2010 at 12:59 p.m.
Filed under:
Bankruptcy,
Mortgages,
Stock activity
By Reuters
Ambac Financial Group Inc., which was the second-largest U.S. bond insurer before suffering huge losses on risky mortgages, said it may file for bankruptcy protection as soon as this year after skipping a bond interest payment.
Ambac shares slid as much as 59.8 percent Monday. Get the full story »
By Reuters
The U.S. Thanksgiving holiday will see more airline passengers, higher fares and packed planes this year as a stronger economy stokes travel demand.
The number of travelers is seen up 3.5 percent from a year ago, according to the Air Transport Association, an airline industry trade group. Get the full story »
Nov. 1, 2010 at 11:45 a.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Economy
By Reuters
The U.S. Treasury said on Monday that bailed-out insurer American International Group will draw up to $22 billion in Treasury funds to facilitate its restructuring and prepare for an eventual government exit. Get the full story »
Nov. 1, 2010 at 11:18 a.m.
Filed under:
Conventions,
Politics,
Tourism,
Updated
By Bruce Japsen
Mayor Richard M. Daley and Governor Pat Quinn open the Bio International Convention at McCormick Place on May 4, 2010. (Nancy Stone/Chicago Tribune)
The Biotechnology Industry Organization said its international convention will return to Chicago’s McCormick Place in 2013 and 2016.
“Chicago has hosted two successful and exciting BIO International Conventions, in 2006 and 2010, and we are thrilled to bring the world’s largest gathering of the biotechnology industry back to the windy city and the Midwest,” said Jim Greenwood, chief executive officer of the BIO International Convention.
The convention attracts more than 15,000 people from the agricultural, pharmaceutical and medical device industries as well as government leaders from around the world. Get the full story »
Nov. 1, 2010 at 11:02 a.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
China,
International,
Investing
By Reuters
China should let the yuan rise further to help its transition toward a consumption-based economy, although there is no clear evidence the currency is undervalued, a senior executive at Goldman Sachs said on Monday.
Higher inflation in China had contributed to rises in the yuan’s real exchange rate, said Jim O’Neill, chairman of Goldman Sachs asset management. Get the full story »
Nov. 1, 2010 at 10:29 a.m.
Filed under:
Pharmaceuticals
By Reuters
A new stroke prevention drug developed by Bayer and Johnson & Johnson proved a safe alternative to the standard treatment, lifting their chances of entering a $12 billion plus market, the German drug company said.
A late-stage study called Rocket-AF showed that the Xarelto pill was as good as the established warfarin pill at reducing the risk of strokes due to a form of irregular heartbeat that is common among the elderly, Bayer said on Sunday. Get the full story »
