Caterpillar Inc. said disruptions in its supply chain in Japan could sporadically affect the company’s assembly plants elsewhere in the world.
The Peoria-based manufacturer of construction equipment said Friday it is attempting to secure alternative sources for components produced by Japanese-based suppliers in case they aren’t able to provide sufficient volumes of components in the aftermath of last week’s earthquake and tsunami in northeast Japan. Get the full story »
Kate Pietrelli, marketing director of hi5, shows off a browser during a Microsoft Explorer event. (Chip Chipman/Bloomberg)
After a decade-long hiatus, the browser wars are officially back. With this week’s release of Internet Explorer 9, last week’s Google Chrome 10 release, and this month’s expected release of Firefox 4, the three most-used browsers are all trying to outduel one another with the most impressive specs. Safari 5, which was released in June, also features many of the same modern features. Get the full story »
A Chicago pro-business group that pushed back at New Jersey’s efforts to steal Illinois business is now setting its sights on Wisconsin.
The latest shot by the new group, For a Better Chicago, is in the form of print ads in Wisconsin much like those taken out in New Jersey a couple of weeks ago. Governors in both of those states tried to lure away businesses after Illinois lawmakers in January raised state income taxes on individuals and corporations.
In the wake of the crisis in Japan, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is advising consumers to beware of inadvertently buying fake iodide products that are supposed to help protect against radiation.
Products to watch out for include fake tablets and liquids purporting to be iodide, as well as dietary supplements and other products that say they protect against radiation, said the spokesperson adding there are only three FDA-approved potassium iodide products that protect against radiation. Get the full story »
Yoplait yogurt at a grocery store. (AP/Dawn Villella)
General Mills said Friday that it has entered into exclusive negotiations to buy a majority stake in French yogurt company Yoplait. General Mills, based in Minneapolis, has licensed the Yoplait brand since 1977, and is Yoplait’s largest licensee. Get the full story »
Inflation spooked the nation in the early 1980s. It surged and kept rising until it topped 13 percent. These days, inflation is much lower. Yet to many Americans, it feels worse now. And for a good reason: Their income has been even flatter than inflation.
Back in the ‘80’s, the money people made typically more than made up for high inflation. In 1981, banks would pay nearly 16 percent on a six-month CD. And workers typically got pay raises to match their higher living costs. No more. Get the full story »
More than 190 Boeing Co. workers across the country are receiving layoff notices this week as the company adjusts to changes in a missile program. Get the full story »
Microsoft Corp. and federal law enforcement agents seized computer equipment from Internet hosting facilities in Chicago and other U.S.cities on Wednesday, in a sweeping legal attack designed to cripple the leading source of junk email on the Internet. Get the full story »
Winston & Strawn has expanded its legal practice to Houston, where it recruited several lawyers away from a law firm that shut down this week.
Winston said Thursday that it has added more than 40 lawyers from Howrey, a national law firm that has been torn apart by partner departures over the last several months. The remaining Howrey partners voted to dissolve the firm on Tuesday. Get the full story »
A Washington Mutual branch at 2053 N. Clybourn that closed in 2008. (Candice C. Cusic/Chicago Tribune)
A U.S. government regulator sued Kerry Killinger and two other Washington Mutual Bank executives accused of pioneering reckless home loans that led to biggest bank failure in U.S. history.
The three “gambled billions of dollars of WaMu’s money” by rewarding employees and themselves for pushing risky, low-teaser rates loans while ignoring warnings about the housing bubble, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said in its lawsuit. Get the full story »
Gov. Pat Quinn says he plans to seek higher fees on power generator Exelon Corp. to ensure the safety of Illinois nuclear power plants in the aftermath of Japan’s nuclear crisis.
A Japanese company making galleys for the long-awaited Boeing 787 Dreamliner said delivery of the component could be delayed if gasoline becomes even more scarce after last week’s earthquake and tsunami. Get the full story »
European planemaker Airbus was placed under investigation on Thursday over the 2009 crash of a flight between Rio de Janeiro and Paris that killed 228 people, Airbus Chief Executive Thomas Enders said.
Investigators are trying to establish why the Airbus 330 plane, operated by Air France, plunged into the Atlantic during a storm on May 31, 2009, killing passengers from 32 nations, including 72 French citizens. Get the full story »
