Burger King’s soon-to-be new owners have named a former Latin American railroad executive to be CEO of the fast-food chain after the $3.26 billion deal goes through.
The appointment of Bernardo Hees by 3G Capital is a signal that the investment firm is serious about expanding the Burger King brand further into Latin America and elsewhere abroad. Get the full story »
WLS-TV News | A study by RPMG shows that 35 percent of corporate credit cards have individual of joint liability agreements. That means employees could be on the hook if the company goes under and won’t pay the balance.
Bloomberg News | The Federal Reserve bought another $1.35 billion in of Treasurys as part of a program begun Aug. 17 to reinvest money from the mortgage securities to keep liquidity in the financial system. This brings the total Fed investment to $14.24 billion.
U.S. private-equity kingpins are likely to be hit with a second giant tax increase next year, the New York Post reported Thursday.
It looks like the bosses will have to dig deeper because a key ally on Capitol Hill — a lawmaker who has blocked three attempts to raise the income tax paid by buyout firms — was set to favor the so-called Enterprise Value Tax. It would more than double the tax bite when moguls cash out of their private equity firms, several sources told the Post. Get the full story »
Britain’s financial watchdog fined Goldman Sachs Group Inc. 17.5 million pounds ($27 million) for failing to tell the regulator it was the subject of a U.S. probe, reviving disclosure headaches for the Wall Street powerhouse.
The fine — one of the biggest imposed in Britain — stemmed from Goldman’s troubled Abacus mortgage-security product, which was the focus of an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Get the full story »
Mortgage rates mostly edged up last week as investors’ fears about the economy eased.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate for a 30-year fixed loan was 4.35 percent, up from 4.32 percent the week before. It was only the second rise in 12 weeks. Last week’s was the lowest number since Freddie Mac began tracking rates in 1971. Get the full story »
AT&T said it has invested nearly $350 million in its wireless network in the first half of 2010 to improve customer service in Illinois.
It’s part of an capital investment of nearly $700 million in AT&T’s wireless and wireline networks in Illinois in the first six months of the year. Get the full story »
Long-time Rush University Medical Center executive Peter Butler was named president of the West Side academic medical center, the hospital’s top executive said. Get the full story »
The number of people signing up for unemployment benefits dropped to the lowest level in two months, an encouraging sign that companies aren’t resorting to deeper layoffs even as the economy has lost momentum.
Suzi Hanks reads Playboy's articles -- and describes the pictures -- for Taping for the Blind in Texas. (AP)
Suzi Hanks reads Playboy magazine for the articles. And the jokes. And the letters and cartoons. And yes, for the pictures. Each week, for an hour, Hanks snuggles close to a microphone in a tiny soundproof closet, reading — and describing in great detail — portions of the latest Playboy issue for the blind.
“I don’t have to try to read it sexy,” laughs Hanks, one of about 200 volunteers at Houston-based Taping For The Blind Inc. “I just read it, and I’m a woman, and that’s pretty much sexy. Get the full story »
Fast-food giant McDonald’s says a key revenue figure rose 4.6 percent in the U.S. in August, as customers continued to come in for its frappes and smoothies. The world’s largest hamburger chain says overall its August sales at restaurants open at least 13 months climbed 4.9 percent.
Ice skating in Chicago in January is nothing new. Doing it on the 94th floor of the John Hancock Center is a little different. Officials at the 100-story Chicago skyscraper say they’re putting in a 1,000-square foot ice-skating rink in the tower. It’ll be open to the public from January through March. Get the full story »
U.S. retailer Toys R Us, which has filed for an initial public offering, said it plans to open about 600 temporary stores in malls and shopping centers nationwide, doubling the number of store locations for the holiday season.
The world’s largest dedicated toy retailer, which currently has 587 full-size Toys“R”Us stores in the United States, said the Toys“R”Us Express store openings will create about 10,000 jobs. Get the full story »
Barry Callebaut AG said Thursday it has signed a supply contract with Kraft Foods Inc., a deal that will increase the Zurich-based chocolate company’s global reach and spark heavy investment. Get the full story »
