Caterpillar says its machine sales in August leaped 37 percent worldwide in August, led by surging sales in Latin and North America.
Banks shut people out of high interest checking
Banks are getting wise to people who bank hop to get the highest interest rates on checking accounts and some are cutting off customers who they think have become too big for their britches. Depositaccounts.com writes that banks can tell when you have been trotting from bank to bank opening accounts. And they don’t like it because they want you to be loyal only to them. My advice: Shop anyway. The more the merrier if you can pull it off.
Motorola tablet to miss holiday season
The success of the iPad has put pressure on Motorola. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Motorola Inc. aims to deliver a tablet computer early next year, after the key holiday selling season.
“We want to make sure that any tablet that we deliver is competitive in the marketplace, and I think all of us will make sure that we will only deliver that when that occurs,” Co-Chief Executive Sanjay Jha said late Wednesday.
Apple Inc.’s success with its new iPad have made tablets a must-have offering for gadget makers. Samsung Electronics Co. unveiled its seven-inch Galaxy Tab to the U.S. market at an event Thursday. Dell Inc. has already launched its five-inch Streak tablet in the U.S., and others are expected ahead of the holidays. Get the full story »
U.S. consumer prices rise in August
U.S. consumer prices increased slightly more than expected in August as food prices rebounded and energy costs remained elevated, but core prices were flat, a government report showed on Friday. Get the full story »
Russia signs $3.7B deal for 50 Boeing 737s
A Russian state-owned company says it will buy 50 new Boeing 737 Next Generation airliners in a deal worth $3.7 billion. Get the full story »
Fannie, Freddie 2 of nation’s biggest homesellers
Two years after they were taken over by the federal government, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac face a new challenge: The mortgage-finance giants are becoming two of the nation’s largest home sellers at a time when the housing market shows new signs of softening.
Fannie and Freddie have already taken back nearly as many homes in the first half of the year as they did all of last year. They owned more than 191,000 homes at the end of June, double the year-earlier total. That number will grow because they are taking back homes faster than they sell them. Get the full story »
Illinois’ sizeable basil crop hit by mildew
A University of Illinois plant expert says the state’s sizable basil crop is being hit hard by a disease called basil downy mildew. Get the full story »
Second Illinois appliance rebate program Sept. 24
From the Chicago Sun-Times | Using federal stimulus money, Illinois will again offer residents 15 percent rebates on new Energy Star-rated major appliances, such as freezers and diswashers, up to $250 per item.
The program starts at 8 a.m. Sept 24 and is first-come, first-serve until the money runs out likely within the day. Shoppers in the first rebate program in April claimed $6.2 million in rebates within 11 hours. Get the full story>>
J&J eyes vaccine maker Crucell
U.S. health care company Johnson & Johnson, looking to catapult itself into the global vaccine market, is in talks to pay $2.3 billion to buy Dutch biotech Crucell. Get the full story »
Head of consumer agency promises to be ‘tough cop’
Elizabeth Warren, Obama's choice to head new U.S. consumer agency. (AP)
The Harvard professor President Barack Obama is putting in charge of a new consumer protection agency says people need a “tough cop on the beat” to protect them from financial industry abuses.
Obama was naming Elizabeth Warren on Friday as a special adviser to both him and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. The financial regulatory bill Obama signed into law this year created the bureau to be an advocate for consumers in their dealings with banks, mortgage companies and other financial institutions.
Banco Popular boosts local ATM network
Banco Popular, which has its U.S. headquarters in Rosemont but doesn’t crack the top 25 in Chicago-area market share, is extending its surcharge-free ATM reach nationally, including in the Chicago area. Get the full story »
Gold prices set record high on economic worries
Gold prices were driven to a record high Thursday as worries returned about sluggish economic growth. Gold for December delivery added $5.10 to settle at $1,273.80 an ounce, which was a record high. Earlier in the day, it traded as high as $1,279.50 an ounce. It was the second time this week gold has set a record high, and some analysts believe the price could top $1,300 an ounce.
FDA panel rejects diet drug lorcaserin
An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration voted against recommending an experimental diet drug known as lorcaserin be approved for marketing.
In a first of several votes to be taken this afternoon, only five members of the panel voted that the drug’s potential benefits to overweight Americans outweigh risks. Nine voted against the drug’s benefits-to-risks ratio. Get the full story »
