After four straight years of declines, sales of million-dollar homes and condos rose last year in all 20 major metro areas, according to DataQuick Information Systems. On average, these cities saw an 18.6 percent jump in high-end home sales. Get the full story »
U.S. may tap oil reserves as gas prices rise
The U.S. government reiterated that it could tap its strategic oil reserves in order to safeguard economic growth as surging gasoline prices increase pressure for action. Get the full story »
Judge OKs class-action against Tribune ESOP trustee
Tribune Co. employees at the time of company’s 2007 leveraged buy-out are eligible to join a class action lawsuit against the ESOP trustee that represented their interests in the takeover by billionaire Sam Zell, a federal judge ruled Friday. Get the full story »
Continental cuts free coach snacks on U.S. flights
What are iconic and twisted and no longer free? Pretzels aboard some Continental Airlines flights.
Continental stopped serving complimentary snacks to passengers flying coach on domestic routes this week. The change is consistent with the carrier’s merger-partner United Airlines’ policy of food for purchase. Get the full story »
Taxes cuts into fiscal 4Q profits at Toys ‘R’ Us
Toys “R” Us Inc.’s fiscal fourth-quarter profit slid 15 percent due to a higher income-tax expense, which offset the toy retailer’s improved sales and margins.
On Friday, Chairman and Chief Executive Jerry Storch said the company has made investments throughout the year to drive growth, including the expansion of the e-commerce business internationally and increased levels of service in the company’s stores. Get the full story »
EADS concedes tanker; now Boeing must deliver
One of the longest and strangest contests in Pentagon history ended Friday when EADS said it would not contest the $30 billion contract Boeing Co. won last month to supply the Pentagon with aerial tankers.
Chicago-based Boeing won in a price shoot-out, underbidding the European defense contractor by $2 billion, EADS North America Chairman Ralph Crosby said Friday. Now comes the hard part: developing and building the aerial gas stations on a fixed-price contract with little leeway for cost overruns, analysts said. Get the full story »
Report: Apple seeks unlimited music downloads
Apple Inc. is in talks with record labels to give customers of Apple’s iTunes service unlimited access to music purchased across multiple devices, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing people familiar with the plans. Get the full story »
Loyola to sell medical center to Trinity Health
Amid the rapidly changing health care landscape that demands large amounts of cash to provide consumers with the latest bells and whistles, Loyola University Chicago said Friday afternoon that it will get out of the hospital business by selling its medical center complex to a large national Catholic hospital operator.
The market is demanding more from hospital operators to stay competitive. By merging, hospitals can pool capital to buy new computer systems, electronic record-keeping systems and the latest medical technology something that Loyola executives say will be easier as part of a larger entity. Get the full story »
Access Media 3 gets $3M in funding
An Oak Brook-based telecom company said Friday that it has secured $3 million in new financing from the Hinsdale Bank and Trust, one of the 15 banks run by Lake Forest-based Wintrust Financial Corp. Get the full story »
Private equity deals up 88% so far this year
Private equity deal flow is bouncing back, with the value of deals so far this year up 88 percent from last year, lifted by a $9.4 billion (5.7 billion pounds) deal by Blackstone Group LP to buy U.S. shopping malls from Australia’s Centro Properties.
Figures from Thomson Reuters show that private equity-backed mergers and acquisitions have totaled $36.3 billion for the year to date. Get the full story »
Hefner succeeds in bid to take Playboy private
Hugh Hefner. (Reuters/Fred Prouser)
A partnership led by Hugh Hefner has succeeded in taking Playboy private.
Hefner’s Icon Acquisition Holdings LP says more than enough shares of Playboy Enterprises Inc. were tendered for the buyout to go through.
The $6.15-per-share deal was funded with $195 million of debt and $185 million from the private investment firm Rizvi Traverse and Playboy management, including Hefner. Get the full story »
Still little inflation in jobs report
With crude oil at more than $100 a barrel and gold hovering near a record high, many are clearly worried about inflation.
But Friday’s jobs report featured some encouraging news on the inflation front — in the most classic economic textbook sense, it isn’t showing up in the broader economy yet. Get the full story »
FDA to toughen warnings on migraine drug
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it will strengthen warnings on the anti-migraine and anti-seizure treatment Topamax and its generic equivalents after new data suggested a higher risk for cleft palates in babies born to women taking the drug.
The move represents a setback for health-care products giant Johnson & Johnson, which owns Topamax maker Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical LLC. The subsidiary last May pleaded guilty to promoting the drug for off-label uses and had to pay an $81.5 million fine. Get the full story »
March 4 at 11:02 a.m.
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Filed under: Cell phones, China, International, Telecommunications, Wireless China Mobile says Jobs wants an iPhone for it
Apple chief executive Steve Jobs has expressed interest in developing an iPhone based on China Mobile’s fourth-generation telecoms standard, the chairman of the Chinese telecoms operator said Friday.
“Jobs has said he’s very interested in developing an iPhone that will run on TD,” China Mobile Chairman Wang Jianzhou said on the sidelines of the Chinese Communist Party’s consultative meeting. Get the full story »
