Chicago-based Sun Trading LLC this week cut its workforce by nearly one-third and wound down its options-trading arm amid tough conditions in the sector.
About 40 staff were laid off this week and the proprietary trading firm will no longer function as a registered market-maker on major U.S. stock-options markets like the Chicago Board Options Exchange and the International Securities Exchange. Get the full story »
Standing in front of a fast-charging station at the Chicago Auto Show, Gov. Pat Quinn called on automakers to bring electric vehicles to the state in light of charging infrastructure planned for the Chicago area.
“We’re going to have electric vehicles galore in the state of Illinois,” he said. “We want to be the nation’s capital for electric vehicles.”
In announcing that Chicago has signed a contract to have 280 charging stations installed in the area, Quinn said the infrastructure will go a long way toward making the state’s environmental goals a reality. Get the full story »
Southwest Airlines Co. is raising fares by $10 for a round trip, saying it needs the money to offset higher fuel costs.
The move Friday was the latest in a series of price increases from major U.S. airlines, most of which are making money after a 2-year slump. Get the full story »
Nasdaq OMX and IntercontinentalExchange are in talks to team up on a possible bid for NYSE Euronext, in an attempt to break up the Big Board’s deal with Deutsche Boerse, the New York Times’ Dealbook reported on Friday. Get the full story »
A Giordano's at 1040 W. Belmont on Feb. 18, 2011. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
By Alejandra Cancino and Becky Yerak | It wasn’t the pizza, it was the real estate.
That’s what attorney Michael Gesas, who represents the Apostolou family businesses, said Friday while explaining the reasons prominent Chicago pizza chain Giordano’s filed for bankruptcy reorganization on Wednesday. The Apostolou family owns Giordano’s.
Giordano’s filing was prompted, Gesas said, when the Apostolou family defaulted on loans on their real estate business, Randolph Partners LLC. Get the full story »
By Jon Hilkevitch | Another delay was announced Friday in the litigation over a possible O’Hare expansion to give the city of Chicago and United and American airlines more time to possibly negotiate a settlement, officials said.
A Cook County judge had been scheduled to hear arguments Tuesday on a motion by the city to dismiss the airlines’ request for a preliminary injunction barring Chicago from selling about $1 billion in bonds to finance part of the final phase of new runways at O’Hare International Airport. Get the full story »
Discover Financial Services Co. said Chairman and Chief Executive David Nelms received compensation valued at about $8.5 million in fiscal 2010, almost double from the prior year.
The credit card issuer said in a regulatory filing Friday that Nelms’ base salary increased to $4.55 million from $1 million the previous year. His salary was made up of $1 million in cash and $3.55 million in stock. Get the full story »
Allstate Corp. sued Citigroup Inc. and Deutsche Bank AG Friday, accusing the banks of misrepresenting risks on more than $385 million of mortgage securities it bought.
Allstate, the largest publicly traded U.S. home and auto insurer, has filed similar lawsuits against Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Get the full story »
IBM supercomputer Watson takes on "Jeopardy!" champs Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. (IBM photo)
IBM’s supercomputer, Watson, may have trounced the last hope for humanity when it beat two “Jeopardy!” champions in a three-night contest this week, but it has also extended a philanthropic helping hand to mere mortals.
IBM is allocating $500,000 of Watson’s $1 million winnings to World Community Grid, a project where volunteer PCs users make up a “virtual supercomputer” that helps scientists with research projects. The grid harnesses the spare computational power of 1.7 million PCs from 535,000 volunteers in 80 countries, putting this combined capability to work on complicated problems. Get the full story »
Coffee prices hit a 14-year high this week, and it’s only a matter of time before java lovers will have to pay more in stores and coffee shops.
Coffee futures have doubled in the last year, closing at $2.46 per pound Thursday. That’s the highest price since May 1997, when coffee was trading at $3.20 per pound. Get the full story »
At a time when states are slashing spending to deal with staggering budget shortfalls, there’s one area they’re not cutting: tourism ads.
Think “Virginia is for Lovers,” “Connecticut: Closer than you think” and “Explore Minnesota.” Get the full story »
Lehman Brothers and Barclays deceived JPMorgan Chase & Co. with bad assets that the failed investment bank’s own employees dubbed “goat poo,” according to new court papers that escalate a legal battle between the financial firms.
JPMorgan filed new court claims in the case, contending that Lehman left it with $25 billion in unpaid loans secured by undesirable such as those left out of the sale to Barclays. Get the full story »
Crain’s Chicago Business | Urban Partnership Bank, the successor to ShoreBank, plans to close branches in the Austin neighborhood, Bellwood and Detroit by mid-May. It intends to open new facilities in those locations at some point.
Johnson & Johnson has recalled at least 395 injection devices containing rheumatoid-arthritis drug Simponi in the U.S. and Germany, due to a potential defect that could result in an insufficient dose of the drug.
European health authorities warned Friday that the manufacturing snafu could cause a temporary shortage of the Simponi devices. As an alternative, patients are being advised to use prefilled syringes of Simponi. Get the full story »
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has entered a retail and licensing deal with NASCAR under which it will offer exclusive products related to the stock car racing circuit in 1,500 of its U.S. stores.
The program, dubbed “Race Time,” begins in time for the Daytona 500 race Sunday, which opens the 2011 NASCAR season, 10 years after famous driver Dale Earnhardt was killed in a racing accident. Get the full story »
