Boeing Co. said on Wednesday that it sold 10 of its big 777s to the airplane leasing arm of General Electric. Get the full story »
Obama energy plan: Cut oil imports by a third
President Obama will focus on energy security amid high gasoline prices. (Reuters/Mike Blake)
President Barack Obama set an ambitious goal Wednesday to cut U.S. oil imports by a third over 10 years, focusing on a source of anxiety for Americans as high gasoline prices threaten economic recovery.
Obama outlined his strategy in a speech after spending days explaining U.S.-led military action in Libya, where fighting, accompanied by unrest elsewhere in the Arab world, has helped push U.S. gasoline prices toward $4 a gallon. Get the full story »
Kansas City gets Google’s ultra high-speed network
Google Inc. said Wednesday it has selected Kansas City, Kan., as the first site for its ultra-fast broadband network. Get the full story »
Zipcar prices IPO stock at $14 to $16 per share
Car-sharing service Zipcar Inc. and some of its investors will sell 8.33 million shares of stock for $14 to $16 each in an initial public offering. Get the full story »
Enterprise pulls rental cars from Orbitz
An Enterprise Rent-A-Car office at 849 Roosevelt Road in Lombard. Enterprise will no longer offer car rentals through Orbitz. (Carl Wagner/Tribune)
Orbitz Worldwide Inc. will stop selling auto rentals from Enterprise Holdings’ brands from April 1, after the online travel agent became embroiled in another contract dispute with a leading vendor.
Enterprise, the world’s largest auto rental company through its eponymous brand and Alamo and National units, said Tuesday it was ending its relationship with Chicago-based Orbitz “after months of difficult discussions.” Get the full story »
SEC mulls rules on compensation committees
U.S. securities regulators proposed rules Wednesday that would require publicly listed companies to have independent compensation committees and make key disclosures about their use of compensation consultants. Get the full story »
CEO confidence hits record high
U.S. chief executives’ view of the economy brightened in the first quarter, with 92 percent expecting sales to rise over the next six months and more than half looking to add jobs, according to a survey. Get the full story »
FDA chemist and son charged with insider trading
A U.S. Food and Drug Administration chemist and his son were charged with using inside information about drug approvals to reap more than $3.6 million in profits, in an embarrassing blow to the health industry regulator. Get the full story »
Abercrombie retreats on push-up bikini for girls
Abercrombie's Ashley padded bikini top. (Abercrombie)
Abercrombie & Fitch retreated on marketing a push-up bikini top to girls as young as age 7 after a rash of criticism from parents and bloggers.
The clothing retailer changed the online description of the bikini tops at its Abercrombie Kids website from “push up triangle” to “lightly lined triangle.”
The company also posted a statement on its Abercrombie Kids Facebook page saying, “We agree with those who say it is best ‘suited’ for girls age 12 and older.” Get the full story »
Private sector adds 201K jobs in March
Payroll processing company ADP said private sector payrolls grew by 201,000 in March, after a revised 217,000 increase in February. Economists were expecting a gain of 210,000 private sector jobs, according to consensus estimates from Briefing.com. Get the full story »
Planned layoffs decline in March
Employers announced fewer planned job cuts in March, even as government sector layoffs mounted, according to a report released Wednesday. The number of jobs cut fell 18 percent to 41,528 from February’s 50,702, according to outplacement consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Year over year, job cuts dropped 39 percent from 67,611 in March 2010. Get the full story »
Abbott bets on dissolvable heart stent
Abbott Laboratories is betting heart patients will benefit from a new type of arterial stent that dissolves away when it is no longer needed. Get the full story »
Fortune Brands sued over vodka lip design
From the Las Vegas Sun | A southern Nevada company that markets flavored vodka is suing industry giant Fortune Brands Inc. and its Jim Beam Brands Co. unit, alleging trademark infringement. Get the full story »
Mortgage applications fall as rates rise
Applications for U.S. home mortgages tumbled last week as higher interest rates sapped demand for loan refinancing, an industry group said on Wednesday. Get the full story »
FAA studies Boeing jet windshield fires
Serious electrical short-circuits cracked or burned portions of cockpit windshields on a pair of American Airlines jets in the past two weeks, ratcheting up concerns about such hazards potentially affecting thousands of Boeing Co. aircraft. Get the full story »
