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By Wailin Wong | Shares
of Strategic Hotels & Resorts, the Chicago-based real estate
investment trust, are surging in tandem with an industry peer that
received an upgrade.
In late afternoon trading, Strategic’s stock was up 24 percent, to
$4.70. The company’s 52-week high is $4.77.
From TheStreet.com | Naperville-based Broadwind Energy benefited Tuesday from investors’ interest in the wind sector; its shares rose more than 6 percent, and it experienced close to twice its average daily trading volume.
Get the full story: thestreet.com.
From Reuters | Untied Airlines parent UAL Corp. saw its shares rise 4 percent in trading today after an analyst at Hunter Keay raised his outlook for the airline, praising it for maintaining its focus on business travelers.
Get the full story: reuters.com
Tribune staff report | Cosi Inc., the premium convenience
restaurant company, has received a letter from the Nasdaq saying it
does not meet the $1 minimum bid price for continued listing of its
common stock on the exchange.
Cosi said it intends to appeal the
determination by presenting a plan to meet the minimum price, including
a commitment to effect a reverse stock split. Directors of the
restaurant chain will submit the reverse split proposal to its
stockholders for approval.
Associated Press | Health stocks lifted the market Monday following House approval of an overhaul bill that would extend insurance to millions. Drug maker Pfizer Inc. rose 32 cents to $17.23, while insurer Aetna Inc. rose 38 cents to $34.84.
Investors had expected the health care bill would pass the House, but the approval late Sunday removed uncertainty about the rules that would govern the industry. A companion bill now goes back to the Senate. The changes could have far-reaching effects on health insurers and drug makers.
From the Waukegan News-Sun | Shares of Abbott Labs’ 2004 spin-off Hospira Inc.hit their highest level ever Friday, closing at $56.66, surpassing the share price of its former parent, which closed at $53.46
Get the full story: suburbanchicagonews.com
Associated Press | Shares in Integrys Energy Group Inc., parent
of Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas, ave gotten too expensive and its
guidance seems aggressive, said an analyst on Friday as he downgraded
the stock.
Citi Investment Research analyst Faisel Khan downgraded the company to
“Sell from “Hold,” citing the recent share price run, aggressive
earnings guidance and the stock’s current value. Shares of the company fell $1.02 to $45.87 per share in midday trading.
Since early February shares have climbed more than 14 percent to close
Thursday at $46.83.
Dow Jones Newswires | CME Group Inc. and Dow Jones & Co. have launched the index venture they’d planned in February. CME Group will own
Dow Jones’ stock-indexing business, including the 114-year-old Dow Jones
Industrial Average.
(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
Associated Press | Palm Inc. reported sales figures on Thursday that showed it’s having a difficult time getting consumers to pay attention to its phones in a market dominated by iPhones and BlackBerrys. The company’s shares plunged in after-hours trading.
The company shipped 960,000 smart phones to stores and distributors in the quarter that ended Feb. 26, 23 percent more than in the previous quarter. However, the number of phones that were actually bought by consumers was 408,000, down 29 percent from the previous quarter.
By comparison, Apple sold 8.7 million iPhones in its most recent quarter.
| GAINERS | % | LOSERS | % | MOST ACTIVE | Vol (000) |
| General Growth | +3.79 | Smurfit-Stone | -4.11 | Motorola | 15,910 |
| Navistar | +2.50 | A.M. Castle | -3.29 | Abbott | 15,374 |
| Boeing | +2.15 | First Industrial | -2.94 | Smurfit-Stone | 13,500 |
| Illinois Tool Works | +1.97 | USG Corp. | -2.90 | Kraft | 10,767 |
| Discover Financial | +1.84 | Rubicon | -2.53 | Sara Lee | 10,508 |
See results from Chicago’s
Top 100 companies.
Dow Jones Newswire | Fitch Ratings lifted its outlook on Navistar
International Corp. and its financing arm to positive from negative. Shares were recently up 2.1 percent to $41.52.
Fitch cited in its outlook change a partnership with the financing unit
of General Electric Co., which is expected to improve the truck maker’s
ability to provide large loans for its customers’ purchases.
By Ameet Sachdev | Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. said Wednesday it plans to buy back $300 million in stock. The repurchase program is primarily intended to offset future dilution expected from shares that will be used for executive compensation in the next three to five years, Mead Johnson said.
The Glenview-based infant formula company also increased its dividend to 22.5 cents a share, up from 20 cents a share,
for the quarter ending March 3.
Associated Press | Wintrust Financial Corp., which operates community bank subsidiaries, on Tuesday said it sold another 870,000 shares, raising about $27.5 million.
The additional sales occurred under an over-allotment agreement. The total share sale, including 5.8 million shares previously sold, netted about $210.3 million. The company did not specify how it plans to use the proceeds. Wintrust shares rose 31 cents to close at $35.99.
(Adam Berry/Bloomberg News)
By Julie Johnsson |
Boeing Co. CEO James McNerney earned total compensation worth $19.4
million in 2009, a 17 percent boost from prior-year results, as the
Chicago aerospace manufacturer struggled to overcome turbulence in the
aviation market and production delays with its 787 Dreamliner.
But much of McNerney’s pay gain was on paper, the result of an
accounting change that increased the actuarial value of the pension
benefits that he had accrued to $5.7 million vs. $1.9 million in 2008,
said Boeing spokesman Chaz Bickers.
By Michael Oneal | Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, which has a big U.S. headquarters in
Northbrook, roared out of the box in early Friday trading after the
company sharply raised its first-quarter forecast on Thursday, citing a
strong rebound in demand for potash, a key agricultural fertilizer.
Shares were up $8.48 to $125.41 in the opening minutes, just shy of the
company’s 52-week high. They closed Thursday at $116.93 apiece.
