Motorola Inc. shares slipped Friday after a downgrade from Citi Investment Research on fears of increasing competition in the smart phone market.
Wal-Mart to end profit-sharing in benefits switch
Wal-Mart employees Robert Dion, left, and Jean-Philippe Barrere collect shopping carts in front of a store in Brossard, Quebec. (AP Photo/Ryan Remiorz)
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to end automatic profit-sharing contributions it has given employees for 39 years as part of a benefits overhaul that the world’s largest retailer says will let employees get more cash up front.
Starting in February, the company will end the profit-sharing contributions, which had equaled up to 4 percent of pay. It will instead offer more funds for bonuses, a 401(k) retirement plan contribution match and cash for medical expenses, according to a memo to Wal-Mart employees that was obtained by Reuters.
The profit-sharing, which has been in place since 1971, went into a program that let employees access the funds only at retirement, Wal-Mart spokesman David Tovar said. Get the full story »
Illinois private equity fundraising outpaces nation
Illinois’ private equity industry is doing a better job of raising funds than the buyout industry nationally.
According to figures released by Dow Jones LP Source, an industry database that tracks private equity fundraising, 279 U.S. funds raised $68.8 billion in the first nine months of 2010, a 10 percent drop in capital from the same period last year.
But in Illinois, 22 funds raised $4.4 billion, up from $2.5 billion in the first three quarters of 2009, Dow Jones LP Source said. Get the full story »
Managed funds cut record net long in CBOT corn
Large speculators cut their record net long position in Chicago Board of Trade corn futures and options as a U.S. Agriculture Department report showing large stockpiles of U.S. corn spurred a sharp drop in prices. Get the full story »
General Growth names Ackman spinoff chairman
General Growth Properties Inc. on Friday named the board of its future spin-off company and appointed hedge fund manager William Ackman to become its chairman when the mall owner and property developer emerges from bankruptcy. Get the full story »
Abbott confirms it will withdraw diet drug Meridia
By Bruce Japsen and Andrew Zajac | Abbott Laboratories said Friday that it would withdraw the diet drug Meridia at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration less than a month after it failed to win over one of the federal agency’s safety advisory panels.
The FDA confirmed the North Chicago-based drug giant’s decision, saying Abbott withdrew the drug because of “clinical trial data indicating an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.” Get the full story »
Dow closes above 11,000 for first time since May
U.S. stocks finished higher Friday, with the Dow closing above the 11,000 mark for the first time in five months, as a surprisingly weak jobs report strengthened the case for more stimulus from the Federal Reserve. Get the full story »
CVS warns of slower earnings growth in 2011
CVS Caremark Corp. warned that 2011 earnings growth could fall below its long-term goals as it spends money to streamline its pharmacy benefits management business and as fewer generic drugs hit the market.
Shares in the company, which operates drugstores and manages prescription drug plans, fell 3 percent Friday. Get the full story »
Toyota turns to free maintenance to boost sales
In an effort to boost sales, Toyota Motor Co. has begun pitching two years of free maintenance with the purchase of its Toyota and Scion cars, making them the first mass-market auto brands to offer such a service.
The offer is the latest in a campaign by the world’s largest automaker to reassure buyers that its cars are desirable amid massive recalls that have slowed sales.
The perk includes normal factory-scheduled maintenance, such as oil changes, as well as 24-hour roadside assistance for two years or 25,000 miles, whichever comes first.
Cubs add new price ‘tier’ for Sox, Yanks, Cards
By Paul Sullivan | The Cubs are adding another premium pricing tier at Wrigley Field, but maintain the average 2011 ticket price will remain flat.
Cubs President Crane Kenney said the new “marquee” price tier will consist of 13 games, including Opening Day and three series against the Yankees, White Sox and Cardinals. The Cubs said these games will hacost an average 12 percent more, but the “average season ticket holder will (remain) flat,” because of the reductions in some platinum, gold, silver and bronze games.
3-D won’t be part of latest ‘Harry Potter’ wizardry
Warner Bros. Pictures has canceled its planned 3-D release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I,” saying it’s run out of time to do the job right.
Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution at the studio, a unit of Time Warner Inc., told Dow Jones that it ran out of time to deliver the quality 2-D to 3-D conversion that “Harry Potter deserves.” The film was scheduled for release Nov. 19 in digital 3-D and Imax 3-D. Get the full story »
Oct. 8, 2010 at 1:05 p.m.
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Filed under: Exchanges, Investing, Stock activity, Technology Nasdaq to further secure trade reference numbers
Nasdaq OMX Group Inc., operator of the Nasdaq stock exchange, will strip information from stock orders that some traders say is too revealing.
Starting Dec. 6, Nasdaq will hide reference numbers assigned to orders meant to be invisible to the market, the exchange said Thursday in an alert to traders. Some traders were concerned that sophisticated computer programs could use those reference numbers to identify a larger pattern in orders and use that to manipulate prices. Get the full story »
FAA: Cargo holds can get too hot for lithium batteries
U.S. aviation officials are warning air carriers that new research shows lithium batteries are sensitive to heat and can ignite in-flight if transported in cargo compartments that get too hot. Get the full story »
Sanofi-Aventis to lay off 1,700 U.S. employees
Sanofi-Aventis SA, the world’s fourth-biggest drugmaker, said Friday it is eliminating 1,700 jobs in its U.S. pharmaceutical business in a restructuring triggered by growing generic competition and other factors. Get the full story »
