A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel will decide Wednesday whether the diet drug Meridia will remain on the market amid calls that it be removed. And on Thursday, another drug, known as lorcaserin, is up before an advisory committee where its developer will face questions from panelists and a possible recommendation for agency approval.
WTO expected to rule Boeing got illegal U.S. help
The World Trade Organization is likely to rule Wednesday that Boeing Co. received some illegal subsidies from the U.S. government, said people familiar with the case, fueling the debate with European rival Airbus and opening the door to negotiations on state support to plane makers.
The preliminary, confidential WTO finding will come more than one year after the WTO ruled in a similar case that Airbus had benefited from illegal European subsidies. Get the full story »
Twitter redesign adds video, photos, 2 panes
Twitter CEO Evan Williams discusses the new Twitter.com in San Francisco. (Robert Galbraith/Reuters)
A screen shot of new Twitter design. (Twitter)
Microblogging site Twitter, which is now signing up 370,000 new users daily on average, is redesigning its Web site to make it easier for its millions of users to navigate the service and discover new information.
The four-year-old company, which this month reported more than 145 million users, announced on Tuesday new improvements, such as embedded YouTube videos and other content, which is featured in a new two-pane layout. Get the full story »
Chase online banking services still down
For an update on Chase’s problems on Wednesday morning, please click here.
Chase’s online customers were unable to conduct business on the Web site of Chicago’s biggest bank into Tuesday evening, the down time having stretched on for more than a day.
“It’s an eternity in the online world,” said Jacob Jegher, a senior analyst with Celent, a Boston-based financial services research and consulting firm. Get the full story »
Bread remains work in progress at Sara Lee
At its annual Meet the Management Analyst Day in New York Tuesday, Sara Lee presented itself as holding company-turned operating company with a string of successes in growing, high-margin businesses and a handful of struggling ones in need of work. The maker of Hillshire Farm sausage and Senseo coffee touted them its biggest successes — North American meats and European coffee — and laid out cases for fixing its problem areas, including International Bakery, North American Bakery and North American Foodservice. Get the full story »
‘Tall’ size returns to Starbucks’ drive-through menus
Last month Starbucks rolled out a “simplified” drive-through menu which removed the company’s small-sized drink, referred to as a “tall.” But the experiment will be short-lived. Starting Thursday, the company will update drive-through menu boards again, to indicate the tall size is still available.
“We want to be sure there is no confusion and that our menu reflects a range of price points,” spokeswoman Deb Trevino wrote in an email. “We listened to feedback and starting Thursday the 16th, stores will be updating their drive-through menu boards, highlighting that tall size is available.” Get the full story »
Agency OKs $314 million bonds for Navistar, others
The Illinois Finance Authority approved up to $314 million of tax-exempt revenue bonds on Tuesday for truck maker Navistar International Corp and others.
Navistar won final approval for $145 million of Recovery Zone Facility Revenue Bonds to help fund its new headquarters and research and development facility in Lisle, Illinois, and a warehouse in Joliet, Illinois.
To issue the bonds, Navistar must get allocations of the federal Recovery Zone Facility Bond volume cap from other Illinois counties and cities, according to the authority. Get the full story »
Eisner downplays rumors of Tribune Co. role
Former Disney Chief Executive Michael Eisner is downplaying reports he is being considered to head Tribune Co. after it exits bankruptcy protection.
The 68-year-old told a St. Louis radio station Tuesday that “somebody in the media” read more into his association with Tribune than was real. Get the full story »
CME plans soft launch on interest-rate swaps
CME Group Inc., which operates one of the world’s biggest clearinghouses, is planning a soft launch for interest-rate swaps clearing by the end of 2010, its chief financial officer said Tuesday.
CME staffers are working daily with dealers and buy-side market participants to prepare for the launch, CME Chief Financial Officer Jamie Parisi said at a Barclays Capital conference for analysts and investors. Get the full story »
Defense contractor found guilty in fraud
A former body armor magnate, who supplied the U.S. military and law enforcement agencies, and another executive were found guilty by a jury on Tuesday of orchestrating a $190 million fraud. Get the full story »
Dimon sees cost of loans rising with reform
New capital rules are expected to increase bank loan prices for customers and may drive some to seek financing from non-bank financial institutions, JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said in an investor presentation Tuesday. Get the full story »
BankFinancial to buy failing bank on its own
From Crain’s Chicago Business | BankFinancial is buying the parent of Downers Grove National for $2 million in cash without FDIC help. That is the first such unassisted transaction to take place in the Chicago area since the recession began.
Boeing rejects bid to tie WTO case to Airbus’
The Boeing Co. rejected suggestions Tuesday that an imminent ruling by the world’s top trade court on allegations that the Chicago plane maker received billions in illegal subsidies should be tied to a similar case against its biggest rival Airbus.
The European company claims Boeing’s case before the World Trade Organization is key to resolving a wider dispute over government aid to aircraft manufacturers. Airbus was found by the Geneva tribunal to have gained an unfair advantage through billions in low-interest loans, infrastructure provisions and research and development grants. Get the full story »
Scalia blocks $270M tobacco judgment
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has temporarily blocked a state court order requiring tobacco companies to pay $270 million for a smoking cessation program in Louisiana. Get the full story »
Sebring out as Chrysler shows dealers new car
The grille of the 2011 Chrysler 200, the replacement for the Sebring.
In his largest dealer meeting since taking the reins at Chrysler, Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne on Tuesday showed off 15 new or revamped cars and trucks, including a replacement for the poor-selling midsize Sebring.
The company unveiled the models, including updates of the Chrysler Town & Country and Jeep Patriot, at a closed-door meeting with 2,400 dealers who gathered in Orlando, Fla.
Marchionne, who is also the head of Fiat, prefers to keep new cars under wraps until close to launch. But Chrysler dealers have struggled as they waited new vehicles under its new management.
Get the full story »
