BHP Billiton said on Thursday it has received antitrust clearance from U.S. regulators to proceed with its $39 billion bid for Canada’s Potash Corp, clearing its first regulatory hurdle in the process.
Last month, the Anglo-Australian miner launched its hostile offer to take over the world’s largest fertilizer company. Potash Corp has flatly rejected the bid as “grossly inadequate” and filed a lawsuit against BHP in an attempt to stymie it. Get the full story »
Abbott Laboratories posted a list of lot numbers on Thursday for the millions of recalled containers of its Similac powdered infant formulas and expanded Internet and call center capacity to handle a deluge of requests for information from concerned parents.
The company announced a voluntary recall on Wednesday of about 5 million units of its top-selling powdered infant formula after beetles were found in the products and in a Michigan plant where they are made.
The Abbott Web site was so busy after the recall that it crashed Wednesday night, hampering efforts by parents to find out if they had been feeding their babies tainted formula. Get the full story »
This free Budweiser’s for you. But so is the job of figuring out when and where to get it.
Anheuser-Busch InBev announced this week that a “Budweiser National Happy Hour” kicks off next Wednesday with free samples at bars and restaurants. But because local and state laws limit alcohol sampling, the brewer can’t give any more specifics.
Todd Henderson. (University of Chicago photo)
A law professor at the University of Chicago, where President Barack Obama once taught, is sorry he ever complained about the president’s tax policies.
Todd Henderson last week wrote on a blog about the effect the expiring Bush tax cuts would have on his family. He said his family, whose household income is north of $250,000, could not afford higher taxes. His wife is a doctor at the University of Chicago Hospitals.
“A quick look at our family budget, which I will happily share with the White House, will show him that like many Americans, we are just getting by despite seeming to be rich. We aren’t,” Henderson wrote on the blog “Truth on the Market.” Get the full story »
Dominick’s is rolling out an online coupon program today that sorts, organizes and personalizes offers for its loyalty-card members.
The program, called “Just For U,” is designed to create a centralized location for customers to store coupons. Members will receive personalized offers based on purchase history, gleaned use of Dominick’s Fresh Values Card. Get the full story »
Siemens AG has recalled about 2.2 million circuit breakers that could cause fires, the company and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said.
The electronics company recalled Siemens and Murray 15- through 50-amp single- and double-pole circuit breakers, load centers and meter combos. The circuit breakers have date codes of 0610 or 0710, and the load centers and meter combos have date codes from June through Augugust 2010. They were sold at hardware and home-improvement stores such as Home Depot Inc. and Lowe’s Cos. Get the full story »
The Democratic-controlled Congress on Thursday sent President Barack Obama a long-delayed bill to help struggling small businesses with easier credit and other incentives to expand and hire new workers.
The $40 billion-plus bill is the last vestige of the heralded jobs agenda that Obama and Democrats promoted this year. They ended up delivering only a fraction of that after emboldened Senate Republicans blocked most of the agenda with filibusters. Get the full story »
Bentley Flying B hood ornament (AP)
Bentley Motors is recalling hundreds of cars with faulty hood ornaments that pose a potential hazard to pedestrians, said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The recall affects 596 vehicles from the British automaker, of the Arnage, Brooklands and Azure models from 2007-2009.
The problem stems from the “Flying B“ hood ornament, a winged B that is supposed to retract upon impact.
Get the full story »
From Crain’s Chicago Business | Stefani’s Tuscany Cafe has closed at the Shops at North Bridge, deciding not to renew its lease after 10 years at what has become a more traditional mall food court.
Time Warner Inc. could offer premium video-on-demand as early as the first quarter for $20 to $30 per movie in a trial, the company’s CFO said Thursday.
Time Warner is considering making movies available for rent on pay television services shortly after their theatrical release and before their DVD release, Chief Financial Officer John Martin said at a Goldman Sachs investor conference in New York. Get the full story »
General Motors Co. likely will seek to raise $8 billion to $10 billion through an initial public offering in November, less than it initially planned, Bloomberg News reports reported Thursday, citing two people familiar with the matter. Get the full story »
President Barack Obama said in a meeting Thursday with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao that China needed to do more to resolve a dispute over the value of the Chinese currency, a senior U.S. official said.
Obama told Wen in their talks on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly that the currency was the “most important issue” of their meeting, the official said.
A new analysis of government data finds that millions of seniors face double-digit hikes in their Medicare prescription premiums next year unless they shop for cheaper coverage. Get the full story »
European regulators said Thursday GlaxoSmithKline’s diabetes drug Avandia should be taken off the market but U.S. officials allowed it to stay, with major restrictions due to concerns about heart risks.
The differing rulings were an attempt to end a row over drug safety that has dogged the reputation of the medicine and its maker in recent years. Get the full story »
