WIFR.com | Harris Bank has taken a pass on Amcore’s Rockford headquarters, leaving the FDIC holding the seven-story building.
Oct. 25, 2010 at 6:01 p.m.
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Filed under: Bank failures, Banking, Commercial real estate, Government, Real estate Harris decides not to buy Amcore’s Rockford HQ
Oct. 25, 2010 at 5:46 p.m.
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Filed under: Computers, Software, Technology, Telecommunications, Wireless Retiring software chief to Microsoft: Move on
Ray Ozzie, Microsoft Corp.’s departing software chief, has asked the company to move on from its roots as a computer-oriented company to imagine a “post-PC world” that relies on wireless devices and the Internet to function.
The call from Ozzie, who announced his retirement from Microsoft last week, is meant to galvanize the company, which has fallen behind Apple Inc. and Google Inc. in the rapidly growing phone and tablet computer sector that many now see as key to the future. Get the full story »
Volcker sees no inflation, deflation any time soon
The United States does not face a problem of rising inflation for several years and also does not risk a damaging spell of falling prices, Paul Volcker, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, said Monday. Get the full story »
Credit-card disclosurers clearer, still too complex
Credit card regulations are making it a little easier to understand what interest and penalty rates banks charge. But a study released Monday says card offers are still far more complicated than a decade ago, which makes it harder for consumers to comparison shop. Get the full story »
Report: Walgreen to sell pharmacy benefits unit
Drug store chain Walgreen has hired Bank of America to help auction its pharmacy benefits management business, Bloomberg reports, citing three people with knowledge of the matter. Get the full story »
AIG reports CEO Benmosche has cancer
Bailed-out insurer American International Group on Monday said Chief Executive Robert Benmosche has cancer and has an unclear prognosis, casting another shadow on the company during a major restructuring.
AIG did not disclose what kind of cancer Benmosche, 66, has, but said he is undergoing “aggressive chemotherapy.” Get the full story »
Investors sue PrivateBancorp over portfolio quality
PrivateBancorp Inc., which hired dozens of former LaSalle Bank lenders in hopes of becoming the Chicago area’s top middle-market business financier, has been hit with a shareholder lawsuit saying it routinely sacrificed loan quality for quantity as it aggressively ramped up growth.
The suit, which seeks class-action status, was brought by the City of New Orleans Employees’ Retirement System. It’s represented by New York law firm Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP. Get the full story »
Ford to add 1,200 jobs in Michigan
Ford Motor Co. said Monday it will invest $850 million in some of its Michigan operations, which should help create up to 1,200 jobs in the state by 2013.
The additional investment will be made between 2011 and 2013, with most of the money funneled into expanding production of Ford’s 6-speed transmissions at two plants in Livonia and Sterling Heights. Investments will also be made at the company’s axle plant, also in Sterling Heights, and the Dearborn Truck plant, which produces the F-150.
The automaker expects to create about 900 jobs hourly jobs and 300 salaried positions. The state’s unemployment stood at 13 percent in September, making it the second highest in the nation behind Nevada.
This investment is in addition to the $950 million the company previously said it would spend to change its Michigan Assembly Plant from producing large sport-utility vehicles to cars such as the Focus, which arrives in show rooms next year.
Affinity cards net college related groups $83.5M
Colleges, alumni associations and related groups were paid $83.5 million last year under agreements to issue branded credit cards.
There were about 1,000 agreements between credit card issuers and such groups in 2009, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve. Get the full story »
Berry Chill closes flagship State Street store
The flagship State Street store of Chicago-based Berry Chill LLC, a frozen yogurt purveyor that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April, is closed.
A sign on the door at 635 N. State St. said the location is “temporarily closed due to emergency repairs,” though postings on its Facebook page and Twitter stream said it’s in a “legal battle” with its landlord. Get the full story »
Chicago trial HAMP loans down in September
The number of Chicago-area homeowners in trial mortgage modifications continued to fall in September, while the number of people who have received permanently lower payment terms rose 4 percent in the month, the Treasury Department said Monday.
The government’s September accounting of its Home Affordable Modification Program also showed that borrowers in permanent modifications are having trouble keeping their loans current, even after the payments are reduced. Get the full story »
Oct. 25, 2010 at 3:23 p.m.
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Filed under: Bankruptcy, Chicago executives, Commercial real estate, Development, Real estate General Growth reportedly courting Vornado exec
Bankrupt mall owner General Growth Properties Inc. is in talks to hire Vornado Realty Trust executive Sandeep Mathrani as its next chief executive, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.
Get the full story »
Oct. 25, 2010 at 2:59 p.m.
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Filed under: Chicago executives, Entertainment, Media, Sports, TV Todd Ricketts on ‘Undercover Boss’ Nov. 7
Todd Ricketts (Jose M. Osorio/Tribune)
By Phil Rosenthal | Todd Ricketts apparently got himself fired from a Chicago Cubs maintenance job when he attempted to secretly work for the ballclub his family owns for the CBS show “Undercover Boss.”
CBS, which announced Monday that it plans to air the Ricketts episode Nov. 7, said he fights for the chance to redeem himself after getting canned on his second day on the job.
Oct. 25, 2010 at 2:23 p.m.
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Filed under: Airlines, Airplanes, Bankruptcy, Litigation, Transportation ATA to get $66M from FedEx in contract case
A federal jury says FedEx must pay $66 million to now-defunct ATA Airlines, saying the package delivery company broke a contract that ultimately pushed ATA into bankruptcy. Get the full story »
TARP report cites bailout’s risks to public trust
An oversight panel for the government’s Wall Street bailout cited risks to the public trust over the handling of the program, as the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program released a quarterly report Monday.
The special inspector general was created to monitor the activities of the Treasury Department involving the program started two years ago to save Wall Street from the financial crisis. Get the full story »
