The Federal Reserve is sticking with its $600 billion Treasury bond-purchase program to strengthen the economy as Japan’s nuclear crisis raises worries around the globe. Get the full story »
Gottfried, ex-Aflac voice, apologizes for tweets
Gilbert Gottfried with the Aflac duck. (AP)
Comedian Gilbert Gottfried apologized Tuesday for a series of jokes made on Twitter about the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, comments which got him fired as the voice of insurer Aflac.
Comedian Gilbert Gottfried apologized Tuesday for a series of jokes made on Twitter about the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, comments which got him fired as the voice of insurer Aflac. Get the full story »
South Loop condos going rental
Another stymied condo development in Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood is going rental.
Lexington Park, which originally was developed as 297 condos in a 35-story tower and additional space in a connected seven-story loft building, will be converted to more than 300 apartments, according to ST Residential LLC, which took possession of the property at Cermak and Indiana last year. Get the full story »
March 15 at 12:51 p.m.
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Filed under: Food, Government, International, M&A, Packaged foods Kraft’s Rosenfeld a no-show in Cadbury probe
Creme Eggs move down the line at the Bournville production plant. (Christopher Furlong/Getty)
Executives from Kraft Foods Inc. appeared at a parliamentary hearing Tuesday over the company’s 11.9 billion-pound acquisition of confectioner Cadbury a year ago, but the absence of Chief Executive Irene Rosenfeld drew criticism from lawmakers.
U.K. lawmakers on the Business, Innovation & Skills committee are discussing with Kraft — maker of Oreo cookies, Philadelphia cream cheese and Maxwell House coffee — the commitments it made a year ago following the takeover, as well as seeking reassurances on jobs and investment into research.
Last April, lawmakers said in a report that Northfield-based Kraft acted “irresponsibly” and “unwisely” during its acquisition of Cadbury and damaged its reputation in the U.K. Get the full story »
AA Eagle adds Chicago-Charlottesville
American Airlines’ regional affiliate, American Eagle, will start daily nonstop flights between Chicago and Charlottesville, Va., on June 9. Get the full story »
Greenspan: Stimulus hurt recovery
Former Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Alan Greenspan, right, takes a question Tuesday morning about his recent publication, "Activism." (Chip Somodevilla/Getty)
Massive government intervention to save the economy is to blame for the lagging recovery, Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Tuesday..
“What we need to do now is to calm down; let things move by themselves,“ he said at a forum at the Council of Foreign Relations. “And indeed of rate of activism has decreased significantly and the ratio of capital flow has inched back up.” Get the full story »
March 15 at 11:59 a.m.
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Filed under: Education, Internet, Litigation, Technology, Telecommunications Advocates for blind sue NU over use of Gmail
An advocacy group has filed a complaint with the federal government accusing New York University and Northwestern University of discriminating against the blind by adopting Google’s e-mail program. Get the full story »
March 15 at 11:53 a.m.
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Filed under: Government, Software, Technology, Telecommunications Motorola Solutions hits road for annual meeting
Schaumburg-based Motorola Solutions Inc. is holding its annual stockholders’ meeting in Washington, D.C. this year, going out of town for its first shareholders gathering as an independent company.
This year also marks the first time Motorola has held its stockholders meeting outside of the Chicago area. Get the full story »
Chicago trails just Sun Belt in lost building jobs
The Chicago area followed close behind battered Sun Belt metro areas in numbers of lost construction jobs in the downturn, according to an analysis released Tuesday by the Associated General Contractors of America.
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville region lost 33 percent of its construction jobs, or 52,100 positions, between January of 2007 and this January, the sixth-greatest loss among metro areas, according to the group’s analysis of government data. Get the full story »
FDIC sets repayment pecking order for creditors
Creditors who help authorities liquidate a troubled financial firm would be among those paid off first among unsecured creditors, according to a proposal issued by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Bank and financial services groups have complained that more clarity is needed about how unsecured creditors will be treated under the U.S. government’s new authority to seize large, failing companies. Get the full story »
Verizon rolls out 4G HTC Thunderbolt phone
Verizon displays the HTC Thunderbolt during the Consumer Electronics Showin January. (AP/Isaac Brekken)
Verizon Wireless announced on Tuesday the first mobile phone for its 4G network, unveiling a handset by Taiwanese manufacturer HTC that will be available March 17.
Verizon lit up its 4G network in Chicago and 37 other cities in early December. The inaugural 4G devices were USB modems that enable connectivity for a laptop. The carrier’s first 4G phone is the ThunderBolt by HTC, which will cost $249.99 with a two-year contract. Get the full story »
U.S., Japan probes UBS actions on LIBOR
Swiss bank UBS said it had received subpoenas from U.S. and Japanese regulators regarding whether it made “improper attempts” to manipulate LIBOR rates, the benchmark price for interbank borrowing costs.
“UBS understands that the investigations focus on whether there were improper attempts by UBS, either acting on its own or together with others, to manipulate LIBOR rates at certain times,” the bank said in its annual report Tuesday. Get the full story »
Blagojevich’s fill in for WLS’s Don and Roma
Tower Ticker | WLS-AM 890 has found another husband-and-wife team to fill in Wednesday morning for Don and Roma Wade: Former reality TV stars Rod and Patti Blagojevich.
“I feel like the time is right, given all that’s going on in the state of Illinois and city of Chicago,” station boss Michael Damsky said, “regardless of whatever else is going on.”
Orbitz to add rail trips for business travelers
Business travelers can book rail trips online with Orbitz for Business as a result of a partnership with SilverRail Technologies, an online search and booking service. Get the full story »
Abbott, Kraft cited for women in management
The National Association for Female Executives named seven Illinois companies among its Top 50 companies for executive women.
Abbott of North Chicago and Kraft of Northfield were among the Top 10. Five others made the Top 50: Allstate Insurance of Northbrook; HSBC North America of Mettawa; McDonald’s Corp. of Oak Brook; Northern Trust of Chicago; and State Farm Insurance of Bloomington. Get the full story »
