Caterpillar Inc. will likely take a break from acquisitions after reaching three large deals in the past year, executives at the world’s largest maker of heavy equipment said.
The company will be focused on closing its $7.6 billion takeover of mining equipment maker Bucyrus International, and then on integrating that new operation into the rest of its business, Chief Executive Doug Oberhelman said. Get the full story »
Yahoo Inc has revamped its Internet search service to sense queries and showcase answers from movie listings to weather forecasts, even as users are typing in a word. Get the full story »
Toyota Motor will slow some U.S. production due to supply disruptions caused by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Get the full story »
Construction workers smooth off concrete mix as they work on the O'Hare expansion project in September 2010. (Chris Walker/Chicago Tribune)
After reaching a crucial compromise with United and American airlines, the city of Chicago is again planning to issue about $1 billion in debt to help fund the final phase of O’Hare International Airport’s expansion.
The city withdrew a $998.9 million bond issue in January after investors’ enthusiasm for the debt was dampened by a collapse in the municipal finance market, a credit-rating downgrade for O’Hare and a lawsuit filed by United and American aimed at blocking the project. Get the full story »
Office products maker Acco Brands said it would eliminate about 2 percent of its jobs and incur about $6 million in pre-tax costs in 2011 as it enforces a cost savings plan in its European business. Get the full story »
Boeing Co. is considering a boost in the production rate of its hot-selling 737 to 42 planes per month in 2013, beyond its latest target of 38, the company’s chief financial officer said on Wednesday. Get the full story »
Amid an emerging rivalry between traditional pay TV operators and rising star Netflix Inc., CBS Corp.’s Showtime pay TV service confirmed Wednesday that back seasons of current original series like “Dexter” and “Californication” will not be available on Netflix’s streaming service as of this summer. Get the full story »
Michael Jordan at a golf tournament last year. (Jeff Siner/Charlotte Observer/MCT)
A Michael Jordan-branded restaurant is returning to Chicago after a 12-year absence.
Michael Jordan’s Steak House will open in late summer in the second-floor dining room and ground-floor bar area of the InterContinental Chicago on North Michigan Avenue.
Chicago-based Strategic Hotels & Resorts, which owns the hotel, will own the restaurant. InterContinental will manage it, while licensing the Michael Jordan name from Jump Higher LLC, which is based in Chicago and managed by The Cornerstone Restaurant Group. Get the full story »
The top U.S. securities regulator wants new rules to help protect exchanges and other trading venues from computer-generated volume spikes and hackers seeking to harm the country’s capital markets. Get the full story »
A nearly 50 percent increase in vegetable prices should ease in coming weeks as farmers deliver more tomatoes, lettuce and other crops to grocers. Get the full story »
Bloomberg News | Hewlett-Packard investors rejected proposed compensation packages for top executives at the company’s annual meeting Wednesday.
Starbucks Corp. coffee on a shelf at a grocery store in New York. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg)
Starbucks Corp. wants to make sales of its coffee and other products in the grocery aisle rival its traditional cafe business, according to Chief Executive Howard Schultz.
The world’s biggest coffee chain is betting it can use the power of its brand to sell a portfolio of goods — such as Via instant coffee and bottled Frappuccino — everywhere food and beverages are sold, whether in a supermarket in the United States or a vending machine in Asia. Get the full story »
Tobacco maker Star Scientific Inc. said Wednesday that the Food and Drug Administration has informed it that two of its dissolvable tobacco lozenges aren’t covered by the law regulating tobacco, clearing the way for them to be marketed. Get the full story »
A key feature of Amazon.com’s Appstore for Android was unavailable Wednesday, a day after the e-commerce giant launched its store to much fanfare. But other parts of Amazon’s venture were more successful, and early tests underscored the positives and negatives of the retailer’s approach. Get the full story »
Michael T. McRaith in 2009. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
A year after the health care overhaul was signed into law by President Barack Obama, the state’s top insurance official says consumers in Illinois are better protected against insurance company business practices that threatened their health benefits.
Michael McRaith, Illinois insurance director, said Wednesday morning that Illinois was becoming a market dominated by just a few “for-profit” insurance companies such as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, which is a mutual company owned by policyholders. Get the full story »
