Sep. 15, 2010 at 3:17 p.m.
Filed under:
Pharmaceuticals
By Bruce Japsen
In a rebuke of the safety of Abbott Laboratories diet drug Meridia, eight of 16 members of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel said this afternoon that the drug should be withdrawn from the U.S. market.
Meanwhile, six of the panelists said the drug should only be prescribed by “specially trained physicians” and include a strict FDA black box warning noting the new limits.
The other two panelists also said a new boxed warning should be added to alert consumers of increased risks of heart attacks and closer monitoring of patients by clinicians. Get the full story »
Sep. 15, 2010 at 3:08 p.m.
Filed under:
Agriculture/Farming
By Associated Press
Corn prices have been on a nearly unchecked climb since late July and are approaching the psychological $5-a-bushel level. The price of corn for December delivery rose as high as $4.975 a bushel during trading Wednesday before falling back to settle at $4.9525 a bushel. Corn rices have jumped more than 25 percent since the end of July.
Sep. 15, 2010 at 2:21 p.m.
Filed under:
Retail
By Reuters
The head of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s U.S. discount stores has some bad news for grown-ups this holiday season — expect to get practical, everyday gifts.
“For all you adults out there, I think you should plan on socks and underwear for Christmas,” Bill Simon, president and CEO of Wal-Mart’s U.S. division, said at a presentation at an analyst conference. Get the full story »
Sep. 15, 2010 at 2:14 p.m.
Filed under:
Computers,
Internet,
Technology
By Reuters
A screen shot of Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9.
Microsoft Corp. released the latest version of its Web browser, saying that it would work at faster speeds, deliver better graphics and be less obtrusive to users.
Internet Explorer 9, unlike previous versions and many competing browsers, pushes itself into the background.
“People go to the Web for site, not the browser,” said Dean Hachamovitch, general manager for IE, at a press event in San Francisco. “Today Web sites are boxed in, the box is the browser.” Get the full story »
Sep. 15, 2010 at 1:13 p.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Internet,
Updated
By Tribune staff report
A screenshot of the error message on Chase.com at 10:38 a.m. CST. (Tribune)
Chase said it continues to work on its spotty-at-best online banking service and said it will refund any fees incurred by customers unable to make online payments during the outage.
Chase’s online banking Web site was back in service early Wednesday morning after being down for more than a day, but many customers have reported that they are unable to log in after entering their user name and password.
Around 10:30 CST, the site displayed an error message saying it was “temporarily unavailable,” though a few minutes later, it appeared to be back up again. Get the full story »
Sep. 15, 2010 at 1:09 p.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Litigation,
Management
By Associated Press
Three former female employees of Goldman Sachs & Co. are suing the Wall Street firm, charging rampant gender discrimination that unfairly favors men in pay and promotions.
The suit filed Wednesday by the three women alleges that Goldman has violated federal and New York City laws by engaging in a systematic “pattern and practice” of discrimination against female professionals at the firm. They are asking a federal judge to certify the case as a class-action suit on behalf of the firm’s women employees. Get the full story »
By Reuters
Smartphone maker HTC Corp. unveiled details Wednesday of its push into the increasingly important mobile services sector and introduced two new handsets using Google’s Android operating software.
The launch came a day after Nokia, the world’s biggest cellphone maker, launched three new smartphones at its annual showcase conference in London. Get the full story »
Sep. 15, 2010 at 12:35 p.m.
Filed under:
Conventions,
Government,
Hotels,
Management
By Kathy Bergen
The state-mandated McCormick Place revamp moved into a second phase Wednesday with the launch of a search for a private management firm to run the convention center.
This comes on the heels of broad moves to cut exhibitors’ costs for electrical and food services and to give them greater leeway to do their own booth work. Get the full story »
Sep. 15, 2010 at 11:51 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
International,
Policy
By Associated Press
The dollar surged on Wednesday to its highest level against the Japanese yen in September after the Bank of Japan unexpectedly moved to weaken the yen.
Sep. 15, 2010 at 10:26 a.m.
Filed under:
Defense,
Manufacturing,
Tourism,
Transportation,
Travel
By Associated Press
Boeing has lined up a space tourism company to sell seats on the spaceship it wants to build to fly to the International Space Station.
Boeing says it has a deal with Space Adventures to market seats on the flights. Space Adventures currently sells seats on trips to the space station aboard the Russian-built Soyuz spaceship.
Sep. 15, 2010 at 8:33 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Restaurants
By Dow Jones Newswires
Wendy’s is making its next push behind salads by cutting the serving in half, hoping to keep sales of its upgraded salads strong by offering them at a lower price.
Wendy’s, a unit of Wendy’s/Arby’s Group Inc., later this month will add half-sized versions of its new higher-end salads, which come in varieties like Apple Pecan Chicken and BLT Cobb, for $3.99. It’s also adding a “Pick 2” menu where, for $4.99, customer can add-on items like a baked potato, small chili, a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger, chicken wraps or drinks that normally cost between $1 and $1.49. Get the full story »
Sep. 15, 2010 at 7:50 a.m.
Filed under:
Airlines,
Tourism,
Travel
By McClatchy Tribune Newspapers
New airline seats inspired by a saddle. (Aviointeriors)
An Italian company is about to take the wraps off a space-saving seat for commercial aircraft that promises a flying experience similar to riding a horse.
Aviointeriors’ SkyRider seats are more like a saddles with armrests than like the traditional flat-cushion seating that fliers are accustomed to. The SkyRider seats are smaller and sit a little higher, which would allow airlines to narrow the distance between seat rows.
On a short-haul flight, the space between rows in economy seating now is at a minimum 28 inches, according to data provided by SeatGuru.com. The SkyRider could cut that down to 23 inches. Get the full story »
Sep. 15, 2010 at 7:34 a.m.
Filed under:
Bankruptcy,
Jobs/employment,
Layoffs
By McClatchy Tribune Newspapers
Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. is planning to close and consolidate several eastern Henrico County, Va. plants within two months. The Chicago-based paper products company will close two Virginia container plants it owns. According to a notice the company filed with state officials, the closures would result in 229 job cuts by Oct. 31. Get the full story »
Sep. 15, 2010 at 7:01 a.m.
Filed under:
Advertising/Marketing,
Beverages,
Food,
Sports
By Associated Press
Pepsi is back in the game. The soft drink brand will advertise in next year’s Super Bowl after sitting out last year for the first time in more than two decades. Pepsi said Wednesday it will air three ads created by fans for its Pepsi MAX brand. The company has been marketing its no-calorie version of namesake Pepsi to counteract Coca-Cola’s fast-growing Coke Zero.
Sep. 15, 2010 at 6:19 a.m.
Filed under:
Consumer electronics,
Consumer news,
Media
By Associated Press
Sony's new Walkman series are unveiled in Tokyo, zeroing in on sound quality and karaoke-like lyrics. (AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa)
Sony is zeroing in on sound quality and karaoke-like lyric displays to woo Japan, its stronghold in digital music players, amid a battering elsewhere from U.S. rival Apple Inc.’s iPod.
Hisatsugu Nakamuta, the Sony Corp. general manager overseeing marketing, said Wednesday that the Japanese electronics and entertainment company is hoping to grab as much as half of Japan’s annual 6.5 million unit portable audio-player market with its new Walkman models. Get the full story »
