(Reuters)
The massive U.S. budget deficit is the gravest threat facing the economy, topping high unemployment and the risk of inflation or deflation, according to a survey of forecasters released on Monday.
The National Association for Business Economics said its 47-member panel of forecasters increased its estimate for the 2011 federal deficit to $1.4 trillion from $1.1 trillion in its previous survey in November. Get the full story »
Continental Airlines, recently bought by United Airlines to form United Continental Holdings Inc , has scrapped plans to launch new service to Cairo, because of declining travel demand to Egypt, which is grappling with political unrest.
Continental said it has “indefinitely postponed” the planned service from Newark, New Jersey, to Cairo, which was to have begun on May 18. Get the full story »
The Sync Technology Center, a West Loop office aimed at becoming a hub for Chicago’s high-tech scene, is closing its current location on Tuesday after just four months in the space.
Mike Rhodes, a Chicago entrepreneur, had opened the center in November to provide office space to startups, as well as other firms specializing in services such as marketing or search engine optimization. Rhodes was also overseeing a new $5 million early-stage investment fund, and the center played host to many local tech events. Get the full story »
U.S. consumer spending rose less than expected in January as households took advantage of the largest increase in incomes in more than 1-1/2 years to rebuild their savings, government data showed on Monday. Get the full story »
Oprah Winfrey talks to reporters about OWN in January. (Reuters)
From the New York Times | Oprah Winfrey’s 2-month-old cable channel, OWN, is attracting fewer viewers than the obscure channel it replaced, Discovery Health. At any given time this month, there have been about 135,000 people watching OWN, according to Nielsen, and only about 45,000 of those people are women ages 25 to 54, the demographic that the channel is focusing on.
Winfrey and her partner, Discovery Communications, have preached patience, especially because she will have a minimal presence on the channel until after “The Oprah Winfrey Show” ends its remarkable run in September. Get the full story >>
Chicago-based Ventas Inc. said Monday that it will buy Nationwide Health Properties Inc. in a $5.8 billion stock deal, creating the nation’s largest health care real-estate investment trust.
The Nationwide purchase solidifies Ventas’ position as an owner of senior housing communities. The combined company will have more than 1,300 assets in 47 states, the District of Columbia, and two Canadian provinces. Ventas also owns hospitals and medical office buildings. Get the full story »
Five months after United Airlines and Continental Airlines sealed their legal merger, the combined company said it will introduce an “interim” advertising campaign this week and begin changing the United Web site to comport with the new look, which melds the United name with the well-known globe that Continental used. Get the full story »
United Continental Holdings Inc. said late Friday its union-represented flight attendants ratified a new labor agreement with Continental Airlines. Get the full story »
Regulators have shut down a small bank in Illinois, raising to 23 the number of U.S. bank failures this year after the limping economy and mounting soured loans felled 157 banks in 2010.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Friday seized Valley Community Bank, based in St. Charles, Ill. The bank has five branches, $123.8 million in assets and $124.2 million in deposits. Get the full story »
CBOE Holdings Inc. shares jumped Friday after a Credit Suisse analyst called the U.S. options market operator a takeout candidate and fingered Nasdaq OMX Group as its most likely suitor.
“We believe a NDAQ-CBOE combination would have strong strategic merits for both companies,” Howard Chen wrote in a note to clients devoted to an analysis of such a takeover, although no such deal has been announced. Chen raised his rating on the operator of the Chicago Board Options Exchange to “outperform.” Get the full story »
Sergio Marchionne, the chief executive of Chrysler Group LLC, did not receive a cash salary from Chrysler in 2010, the automaker managed by Fiat SpA revealed on Friday in a detailed filing with U.S. regulators.
Marchionne, who is also CEO of Italy’s Fiat, did receive a $600,000 stock grant for his services as a director on the company’s board from June 2009 until June 2010. Get the full story »
Packages of Starbucks coffee lined up in a supermarket in January 2011. (Reuters/Lucy Nicholson)
It’s official: Kraft Foods will lose its Starbucks business March 1.
The final legal obstacle was removed to Starbucks ending its coffee distribution agreement with Northfield-based Kraft Foods by a U.S. appeals court ruling Friday.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York affirmed a lower court ruling of Jan. 28, denying Kraft’s request to stop Starbucks from moving ahead with its plan to use a new partner to distribute packaged coffee to supermarkets in North America and Europe.
Kraft and Starbucks Coffee Co. are in the arbitration to decide what the Seattle-based coffee giant must pay to terminate the relationship. Kraft has been fighting in court to maintain control of the Starbucks business until the arbitration has been concluded. Get the full story »
