Prices are still going up on food and gas, but underlying inflation remains low, the government said Thursday. The U.S. Consumer Price Index, a key measure of inflation, increased 1.6 percent over the past 12 months ending in January, up from 1.5 percent in December, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Get the full story »
Americans more optimistic about health care costs
Americans are more optimistic about their ability to pay for health care services in the coming months, particularly for elective surgeries, according to a survey issued on Thursday. That attitude could translate into an improvement for health care providers and medical companies after U.S. consumers cut back on health services in recent years because of the recession. Get the full story »
Hyatt swings to profit
Hyatt Hotels Corp. reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit as the recovering economy boosted demand at its international and mid-market properties. The hotel owner and operator on Thursday reported fourth-quarter earnings of $6 million, or 3 cents per share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $12 million, or 7 cents per share. Get the full story »
Caterpillar selling Carter Machinery
Caterpillar said Wednesday that it plans to sell Salem, Va.-based Carter Machinery as part of a management buyout. The terms of the sale were not disclosed. Get the full story »
Illinois plans 4th webinar on insurance exchanges
The Illinois Department of Insurance is planning the fourth in a series of web-based seminars on health insurance exchanges.
The nation’s new health care law requires the exchanges to be running in states by 2014. Individuals and small businesses would be able to shop for health coverage through the exchange. Get the full story »
Study: New credit card rules not hurting borrowers
(Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
A private lending watchdog group said on Wednesday that sweeping rule changes imposed on credit card issuers last year by the U.S. Congress had increased transparency for borrowers without restricting the availability of credit.
When the law, known as the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, went into full effect last February, financial companies warned it would make it harder for consumers to get credit cards and more expensive for those who did. Get the full story »
U.S. bourses not rushing to merge, analysts say
U.S. exchanges may not rush to strike deals to compete with the combined Deutsche Boerse AG and NYSE Euronext, even as the sector is almost certain to consolidate further over the long term.
In particular, analysts cast doubt on a report that CME Group would try to buy NYSE Euronext — operator of the New York Stock Exchange — away from its German suitor, which this week offered to pay $10.2 billion for the icon of U.S. capitalism. Get the full story »
Nearly half of Chicago-area Borders to close
The Borders at North and Halsted in Chicago will close. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Borders Group Inc. plans to close almost half of its stores in the Chicago area as part of its proposed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to a Wednesday filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York.
According to the Borders Web site, the bookseller has about 30 stores in Chicago and its suburbs, including a few Indiana locations.
In Chicago, five of eight stores will close, including the one at North Avenue and Halsted Street, as well as those in Lincoln Park, Uptown, Lincoln Village and Beverly. The Hyde Park store is already in the process of closing and will shut its doors on March 7. This means the only Borders superstore left in the city will be in the Loop. A Borders-owned Waldenbooks in Citicorp Center will also remain open. Get the full story »
Tropicana takes shot at Coke with bottled juice
PepsiCo will sell its Tropicana Pure Premium orange juice in clear bottles, not the familiar coated-paper cartons, as it tries to take back market share from the Coca-Cola Co. brand Simply Orange.
Tropicana, the largest U.S. orange juice brand, said on Wednesday that clear plastic bottles will replace most of the cartons it has long sold bearing a picture of an orange with a straw stuck in it. Get the full story »
Ill. Senate bill on minimum wage gets more support
A bill that would increase Illinois’ minimum wage by 65 cents this summer is slowly gathering support from Democrat lawmakers from Chicago.
Sen. William Delgado and Sen. Rickey Hendon added their names Tuesday to a growing list of supporters of Senate Bill 1565, which was introduced earlier this month.
The bill would increase the minimum wage by 50 cents, plus the rate of inflation every year, until it is restored to its “historic level” above $10 per hour. Get the full story »
Comcast earnings soar; now hard part begins
Comcast surpassed analysts’ estimates for its earnings in the final quarter of 2010 — its final period before adding NBC Universal to its mix. The company’s operating income grew rose 10.8 percent for the quarter. Revenue was up 7.2 percent to $9.72 billion.
Now the work begins. Despite all of the talk about the importance of fixing the ailing NBC broadcast network or the glamour of entering the movie business, Roberts said the first priority of his lieutenant, NBC Universal Chief Executive Steve Burke, would be “to maintain the strong momentum and focus of the cable channels.”
Sanofi buys Genzyme for $20.1B
French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis SA has agreed to buy Genzyme Corp. with a sweetened $20.1 billion cash offer, plus payments tied to the success of the U.S. biotech group’s drugs, the companies said on Wednesday.
The acquisition, which comes nine months after Sanofi CEO Chris Viehbacher first put the idea to Genzyme’s Henri Termeer, is expected to boost Sanofi’s earnings from the first year after completion by giving it a new platform in rare diseases. Get the full story »
