General Motors Co. posted fourth-quarter earnings slightly above expectations and its first full-year profit since 2004. Profit for all of 2010 was $4.7 billion, achieved after the company slashed costs and debt in a 2009 bankruptcy financed by the Obama administration. Get the full story »
Pritzkers selling Triton Container for $1B
Triton Container International Ltd., which is owned by the wealthy Pritzker family, is expected to disclose as early as Thursday its sale to private-equity firms Warburg Pincus LLC and Vestar Capital Partners for about $1 billion, people familiar with the matter said.
Talks are ongoing and details are still being finalized, these people added. Including debt and cash, a sale would value Triton at about $3.5 billion, people familiar with the matter said. Get the full story »
Average Wall Street bonus falls to $128,530
Wall Street workers may be feeling a little leaner. That’s because cash bonuses fell nearly 8 percent last year, according to New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. Bonuses paid to New York City workers in the financial securities industry fell to $20.8 billion in 2010. That’s a one-third drop in the bonus pool from 2007, before the financial crisis, DiNapoli said. Get the full story »
Foreclosures make up 26% of home sales
Of all home sold in the U.S. last year, 26 percent were foreclosures and short sales, according to a RealtyTrac report released on Thursday. That’s down slightly from 2009, but a jump compared to 2008.
In Illinois, RealtyTrac said 29,194 distressed properties were sold, accounting for 26 percent of all sales last year. Get the full story »
Feb. 24 at 5:30 a.m.
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Filed under: The day ahead in business
Reports: Weekly jobless claims, 7:30 a.m.; Durable goods orders for January, 7:30 a.m.; New home sales for January, 9 a.m.; Crude oil inventories, 10 a.m.
Local earns: Heritage-Crystal Clean, LKQ Corp., Nuveen, PCTel Inc., Morton’s Restaurant Group, Sears Holdings, SXC Health Solutions, Telephone & Data Systems, Titan International, U.S. Cellular
Major earns: American International Group, Dish Network Corp., Gap Inc., General Motors Co., Grupo Bimbo, Kohl’s Corp., Newmont Mining Corp., Safeway Inc., Target Corp.
Sears names IBM veteran its CEO
Sears Holdings Corp. named IBM veteran Lou D’Ambrosio CEO and president, effective Thursday.
D’Ambrosio succeeds W. Bruce Johnson, who has served as interim CEO and president since January 2008. Get the full story »
Arthur J. Gallagher to acquire London firm
From Business Insurance | Itasca-based insurance brokerage Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will acquire Woodbrook Underwriting Agencies, an agency in London, the company announced Wednesday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Potash Corp. rival posts Q4 profit
Intrepid Potash posted its second straight market-topping quarterly profit as potash sales increased 44 percent on surging demand for grains.
Rising crop prices are giving strong incentives to farmers to maximize yield, which entails applying more fertilizer, thus helping fertilizer companies like Potash Corp. and Mosaic clock good sales numbers. Get the full story »
No succession plan demand from Apple investors
Apple shareholders rejected demands that the company disclose a succession plan for ailing chief Steve Jobs but approved a proposal giving them a bigger say in appointing directors.
At Apple’s annual meeting Wednesday, about 74 percent of votes cast favored a proposal by Calpers that unopposed candidates for the company’s board receive a majority of votes to win election, according to the fund. Get the full story »
Illinois bonds sought after despite fiscal woes
Investors skimmed over Illinois’ well-known financial troubles to vie for a piece of a $3.7 billion taxable pension bond sale on Wednesday.
The state received $6.1 billion in orders from a record 128 investors, according to John Sinsheimer, the state’s capital markets director. Get the full story »
CBOE’s Brodsky says niche is not only option
CBOE Holdings Inc.’s focus on equity derivatives has kept it competitive against larger rivals, but remaining a niche player “may not be the only way that we will succeed,” CEO William Brodsky told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.
Germany’s Deutsche Boerse AG agreed last week to buy NYSE Euronext in a $10.2 billion deal, the biggest tie-up in a recent wave of global mergers that has also brought together the operators of the Toronto and London exchanges and the Australian and Singapore exchanges.
The deals have sparked speculation over what exchange could be the next takeover target. Get the full story »
Walmart market coming to Presidential Towers
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to open a Neighborhood Market store at the Presidential Towers apartment complex in the West Loop in what would be the discount chain’s first small grocery store in Chicago.
The world’s largest retailer intends to spend $1 million to build out 26,491 square feet on one level at the residential tower at 555 W. Madison St., according to a building permit filed on behalf of Walmart.
The Bentonville, Ark.-based discount chain has been making a push to expand into urban centers of the north to jump start sales growth. On Tuesday, the retail giant reported that sales at U.S. stores open at least one year, a key metric of retail health, fell for the second year in a row. Get the full story »
Oil briefly hits $100, gold reaches two-week high
Gold rose to its highest in more than seven weeks Wednesday, closing in on record highs as escalating unrest in Libya and soaring crude oil prices fueled fears of inflation and slower economic growth.
U.S. crude oil futures marched rapidly to hit $100 a barrel on possible supply disruption from Libya, stoking inflation concern. They later settled up nearly $3 at about $98 a barrel, its highest since October 2008. Get the full story »
