Marriott ($35.76, down 5.05 percent) said it has had robust demand internationally, but North American growth has been lower than expected during the first quarter.
The company expects first-quarter worldwide systemwide revenue per available room a key industry metric to increase 7 percent, at the low end of its 7 to 9 percent guidance. Get the full story »
A coalition fighting state legislation that would set utility rates by formula will hold a rally at 1 p.m. Monday at Trinity United Church of Christ on the South Side. Get the full story »
EBay plans to buy e-commerce company GSI Commerce for $1.96 billion in cash in a bid to draw more buyers and sellers to its online marketplaces and win more business from large store chains. Get the full story »
Warren Buffett’s company offered a strong endorsement of five stocks it holds as part of discussions with regulators about how it should value Kraft Foods, Wells Fargo & Co., Sanofi Aventis, Swiss Re and US Bancorp. Get the full story »
Goose Island brewmaster Greg Hall checks operations at the company's Chicago brewery in this photo from 2009. Hall will step down as part of Anheuser-Busch's planned takeover of Goose Island. (Michael Tercha/Chicago Tribune)
By Josh Noel and Emily York | Goose Island Beer Co., the Chicago-based brewing powerhouse, announced this morning that it will be taken over by Anheuser-Busch (A-B) for $38.8 million.
Goose Island, whose legal name is Fulton Street Brewery LLC, is selling a 58 percent stake in the company to A-B for $22.5 million. The Craft Brewers Alliance, in which A-B holds a 32 percent stake, has agreed to sell its own Goose Island stake to A-B for $16.3 million. The Craft Brewers Alliance owns the remaining 42 percent of Goose Island. Get the full story »
Pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes unexpectedly rose in February, a trade group said on Monday, pointing to a modest pick-up in home sales. Get the full story »
A vacant home in Ford Heights, Ill., April 27, 2009. (David Pierini/Chicago Tribune)
The national vacancy rate crept up to just over 13 percent according to last week’s decennial census report. That’s up from 12.1 percent in 2007.
Maine had the highest proportion of empty housing stock, at 22.8 percent. Other states with gluts of empty houses included Vermont (20.5 percent), Florida (17.5 percent), Arizona (16.3 percent) and Alaska (15.9 percent). Illinois was among those states with the lowest vacancies. Get the full story »
The typical American tax cheat is male and under the age of 45, according to a survey by DDB Worldwide Communications Group found.
While only 15 percent of Americans surveyed fessed up to fudging their tax returns, 64 percent of those people were men, according to the survey of consumer attitudes and behavior. Thirty-five percent were single, and 55 percent were under the age of 45. Get the full story »
Beginning at 1 p.m. CST Monday, The New York Times will end free access to its Web site for non-subscribers. In erecting a paywall, executives at the Times are trying to walk a fine line: generate subscription revenue from avid readers willing to pay, while still retaining more the casual customers who boost advertising revenue with their clicks.
Analyzing online readership habits and polling data led the Times to set that fine line at 20 articles every four weeks. Click on fewer and you’ll have free access — but to get article #21, you’ll have to pay up. Get the full story »
From Crain’s Chicago Business | Warner Bros.’ next Superman movie, “Superman: Man of Steel” will be filmed in Chicago starting this summer, Crain’s Chicago Business reported. Filming is expected to take two to three months. Get the full story>>
Elizabeth Warren, left, and Jamie Dimon. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta; Simon Dawson/Bloomberg)
Elizabeth Warren, the Obama administration’s defender of financial consumers, will venture into the corporate lion’s den this week, along with Jamie Dimon, CEO of banking giant JPMorgan Chase & Co.
The two will be speakers at an event set for Wednesday at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the country’s largest business lobbying group, in its Corinthian-columned headquarters situated within view of the White House.
Google is joining Citigroup and Mastercard to set up a mobile payment system that will turn Android phones into a kind of electronic wallet, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.
Southwest Airlines Co. began offering airline service Sunday in Newark, N.J., a vital cog in the discount carrier’s efforts to expand in the New York-metro market and to attract more business travelers. Get the full story »
Harry & David Holdings Inc., the mail-order food company known for its fruit baskets and Moose Munch snacks, is preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as soon as Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources. Get the full story »
