J.D. Power and Associates Thursday cut its forecast for 2011 U.S. total light vehicle sales, based on a slower economic recovery than expected.
Next year’s total light vehicle sales forecast was cut to 12.9 million vehicles from 13.2 million. Get the full story »
A McDonald's restaurant in Bismark, N.D. (AFP/Karen Bleier)
McDonald’s shares hit an all-time high after the restaurant chain said its third-quarter profit surged 10 percent to $1.4 billion on growth in “all areas of the world.” Shares in McDonald’s were up 2.57 percent to $79.40 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Comparable sales grew 6 percent worldwide, 5.3 percent in the U.S., 4.1 percent in Europe and Asia/Pacific, and 8.1 percent in the Middle East and Africa.
Earnings per share increased 12 percent to $1.29. Revenues were up 4 percent to $6.3 billion. Analysts polled by Thompson Reuters had been expecting $6.23 billion in revenues and earnings per share of $1.25. Get the full story »
Mark Hoppe said it has taken more than 990 days, but the chief executive of Taylor Capital Group Inc. said the parent of Cole Taylor Bank has finally turned a quarterly profit.
“Wow, that feels good,” Hoppe, who joined the Chicago-based company from LaSalle Bank in 2008, told analysts during a conference call Thursday morning to discuss third quarter earnings.
But he said he’s “not standing on an aircraft carrier like George W. Bush did.” Get the full story »
Sex.com, widely considered to be among the most valuable web addresses in the world, was sold for $13 million by its bankrupt owner, Escom LLC.
In court papers filed on Monday, the company said Clover Holdings Ltd was the successful bidder for the domain name. The deal is yet to be approved by the bankruptcy court. Get the full story »
Rates on 30-year fixed mortgages rose slightly from their lowest level in decades, inching up to a national average of 4.21 percent. Get the full story »
Packages of Windows 7 lined up for purchase on Oct. 22, 2009. (AP Photo/Paul Connors)
Microsoft Corp.’s Windows 7 has sold more than 240 million copies in its first year, the company said on Thursday, making it the fastest-selling operating system, and helping the software giant to record profits despite a recent dip in computer sales growth.
The new software, which costs from $80 for a simple upgrade to $320 for the top-of-the-range edition, was launched a year ago this week to supersede the unpopular Vista.
Although Apple Inc’s OS X and Linux-based operating systems have won some market share in the past few years, Microsoft still controls 90 percent of the world’s 1.4 billion or so personal computers, and is expecting more customers to upgrade or switch to Windows 7. Get the full story »
Baxter International Inc. reported third-quarter profits up 12 percent on improved sales of medication delivery devices.
The Deerfield-based medical product giant reported profits of $595 million, or $1.01 per share, compared to $530 million, or 87 cents a share in the third quarter of 2009. Revenues rose 3 percent to $3.2 billion. Get the full story »
Vehicle springs, awaiting installation at the Hyundai plant in Montgomery, Ala. (Dave Martin/Bloomberg News)
By next year about 80 percent of the vehicles Korean automaker Hyundai sells in the United States will be built here, the CEO of the automaker’s U.S. arm told CNNMoney.
That percentage would likely put Hyundai at the top of the “Made in the USA“ rankings among all automakers operating in the U.S., including Ford, Chrysler and General Motors. Get the full story »
Northern Trust Corp reported a 17 percent decline in third-quarter profit, falling short of Wall Street forecasts, as the financial services group earned less for loaning out securities.
The Chicago-based company said net income was $155.6 million, or 64 cents per share, down from $187.9 million, or 77 cents, a year earlier. Analysts had expected 71 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Get the full story »
A Japanese-based rail manufacturer is getting state financial help to start making railcars in northern Illinois. Officials say Nippon Sharyo U.S.A. will receive $12 million in the form of a state business investment package to supplement $35 million in private investment. Get the full story »
Buoyed by a global rebound in travel, United and Continental airlines flew into the black during their last quarter as independent carriers.
United Continental Holdings Inc., the parent company created by the airlines’ Oct. 1 merger, reported that United’s net income soared to $473 million or $2.12 per share, excluding fuel and merger-related charges during the third quarter. That’s a $533 million improvement from 2009 results. Get the full story »
Striking rail workers burn tracks, protesting a move to delay retirement until age 62. (Reuters)
Protesters blockaded Marseille’s airport, Lady Gaga canceled concerts in Paris and rioting youths attacked police in Lyon on Thursday ahead of a tense Senate vote on raising the retirement age.
A quarter of the nation’s gas stations were out of fuel despite President Nicolas Sarkozy’s orders to force open depots barricaded by striking workers.
Reports: Weekly jobless claims, 7:30 a.m.; Leading indicators for September, 8 a.m.; Freddie Mac weekly mortgage rates.
Local earnings: Caterpillar Inc., Gardner Denver, GATX Corp., McDonald’s Corp., Northern Trust, United Continental Holdings Inc., W.R. Grace & Co.
Other major earnings: Alaska Air Group Inc., Amazon.com Inc., AT&T Inc., Capital One Financial Corp., Eli Lilly & Co., Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., Hershey Co., Philip Morris International Inc., PNC Financial Services Group Inc., Reynolds American Inc., Southwest Airlines Co., Travelers Cos., Union Pacific Corp., United Parcel Service Inc., Xerox Corp.
A boy skips by an unfinished home in Lincoln Park. (William DeShazer/ Chicago Tribune)
Chicago’s once-hot neighborhoods are getting hammered by foreclosures.
In Chicago’s Loop, for instance, 73 foreclosure filings were made during the three months ended Sept. 30. Combine that with filings made earlier in the year and foreclosures up almost 77 percent from the first nine months of 2009, to 205 properties. The Near North, Near South and Near West sides, as well as Lincoln Park, also saw double-digit increases, according to a third-quarter foreclosure report scheduled to be released Thursday by the Woodstock Institute. Get the full story »
Get out your coffee and your coupons. Black Friday, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, is about to get bigger.
For the past several years, Black Friday has ranked as the largest shopping day of the year, in both sales and traffic. But analysts say a host of factors is converging to make it likely that Black Friday 2010 will set a record. Get the full story »
