Bethenny Frankel. (Skinnygirl)
Fortune Brands Inc., seeking to capitalize on the emerging market of low-calorie cocktails, has acquired the Skinnygirl brand created by reality-television star Bethenny Frankel.
Fortune’s Beam Global Spirits & Wine Inc. unit aims to build on the rapid growth of Skinnygirl Margarita — a bottled cocktail that boasts 100 calories per four-ounce serving — by expanding its distribution and introducing other drinks under the label. Get the full story »
From the Chicago Sun-Times | Palatine’s Joe D’Amico on Sunday completed the Los Angeles marathon with a personal best time after eating nothing but McDonald’s fast food for a month. D’Amico said he was not trying to make a political statement and did it because he loves McDonald’s and running and wanted to combine the two.Get the full story>>
Diversified U.S. manufacturer Illinois Tool Works Inc said Monday its sales in the three months through February were up 11 percent, and the company repeated its annual and quarterly earnings forecasts. Get the full story »
Citigroup Inc. said Monday it plans to reduce the number of outstanding common stock shares, and to reintroduce a dividend beginning in second quarter 2011. Get the full story »
LightRadio blocks are smaller than a Rubik's Cube. (Alcatel-Lucent)
As mobile data usage skyrockets, wireless companies are spending billions each year to maximize capacity, and consumers end up footing the cost in the form of higher cell phone bills. But a cube that fits in the palm of your hand could help solve that problem.
It’s called lightRadio, a Rubik’s cube-sized device made by Alcatel-Lucent that takes all of the components of a cell phone tower and compresses them down into a 2.3-inch block. Unlike today’s cell towers and antennas, which are large, inefficient and expensive to maintain, lightRadio is tiny, capacious and power-sipping. Get the full story »
A Zippo brand watch. (Zippo)
Zippo lighters are still so retro cool that the company expects to produce its 500 millionth lighter when the northwestern Pennsylvania company celebrates its 80th anniversary next year. But, Zippo Manufacturing Co. officials say increasing pressure on folks not to smoke means the company’s future depends on its ability to sell something other than lighters.
That’s why the company in Bradford is planning an expanded line of products from watches to cologne that it hopes to sell through kiosks and Zippo-brand specialty stores. It hopes those will begin popping up later this year overseas and in select U.S. locations. Get the full story »
Google Inc. on Monday accused the Chinese government of making it difficult for Gmail users to access the service in the country, the latest development in a rocky relationship between the two. Google said any difficulty users in China may have faced in the past few weeks accessing its email service was likely to be the result of government blocks, a Google spokeswoman said in a statement. Get the full story »
AT&T’s surprise $39-billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA Inc. could lead to more consolidation in the U.S wireless industry, leaving the market with just two dominant providers — and the prospect of higher rates and fewer choices for consumers.
If approved by regulators, the newly expanded AT&T Inc. would have 130 million subscribers, allowing it to leapfrog arch-rival Verizon Wireless and its 94 million customers to become by far the nation’s largest wireless carrier. Sprint Nextel Corp. would be a distant third.
Reports: Existing home sales, 9 a.m.
Local earnings: CTI Industries, Deerfield Capital Corp.
Other major earnings: KB Home, Gencorp, Tiffany & Co.
A former Goldman Sachs Group Inc computer programmer was sentenced to eight years in prison on Friday for stealing secret code used in the Wall Street bank’s valuable high-frequency trading system.
Sergey Aleynikov, was arrested by the FBI and charged in July 2009 with copying and removing trading code from Goldman before taking a new job at Teza Technologies LLC, a high-frequency trading startup firm in Chicago. Get the full story »
Deere & Co. said Friday it expects delivery delays for some construction excavators built under a joint venture with Japanese equipment manufacturer Hitachi. Get the full story »
The White House is considering nominating Mark Wetjen, an aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, for a top job at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, The Financial Times reported on Friday. Get the full story »
(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Procter & Gamble will raise detergent prices by 4.5 percent in June as the world’s largest household products maker starts to respond to rising costs for materials, packaging and transportation.
The maker of Tide, Gain and Era laundry detergents said the increase would go into effect on June 6. Prices that shoppers pay are ultimately set by retailers. Get the full story »
United Continental Holdings Inc.’s United Airlines and the Teamsters Union have reached a tentative agreement on a contract for 5,500 U.S. aircraft technicians and related employees. Get the full story »
Boeing CEO Jim McNerney. (José M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)
Boeing Chief Executive James McNerney’s compensation was valued at $19.7 million in 2010, up 1.5 percent from the previous year, as Boeing saw a rebound in commercial airplane orders, Boeing said in its proxy filing Friday.
The figure includes McNerney’s salary, bonuses, stock and options award and changes to his pension. McNerney’s annual bonus amounted to $4.4 million. Get the full story »
