July 19, 2010 at 4:55 p.m.
Filed under:
Crime,
Criminal charges,
Media,
Updated
By Ameet Sachdev
Conrad Black leaves the Dirksen Federal Courthouse after his sentencing hearing in Chicago in this December 10, 2007 file photo. (Reuters/John Gress/Files)
Conrad Black won his request for bail Monday while a federal appeals court reviews whether to overturn his 2007 fraud conviction related to his one-time control of Hollinger International Inc., the former parent of the Chicago Sun-Times.
It is not clear when Black will be released from prison. He has been in federal custody in Florida for more than two years, serving a 78-month sentence for three counts of fraud and one count of obstruction of justice. Get the full story »
July 19, 2010 at 12:22 p.m.
Filed under:
Airplanes,
Airports,
Updated
By Julie Johnsson
Boeing CEO James McNerney in front of a 787 which made its international debut at Farnsworth. (Reuters)
Planemaker Boeing Co. unveiled $13 billion in new aircraft orders during the first day of the Farnborough International Airshow, besting the $9 billion in orders reported by rival Airbus SAS as thousands of airplane suppliers and buyers gathered at the largest aerospace trade event of the year.
The flurry of aircraft orders came after two lean years for aircraft manufacturers Chicago-based Boeing and France-based Airbus and signaled that a rebound in the global airline market is well under way.
“The market is clearly coming back and I feel very confident about how we are positioned to regain — and retain — leadership in this business,” Jim Albaugh, CEO of Boeing’s commercial airplane business, told reporters Monday. Get the full story »
July 19, 2010 at 11:55 a.m.
Filed under:
Cell phones,
M&A,
Updated,
Wireless
By Wailin Wong
Motorola Inc. is selling its wireless networks unit to Nokia Siemens Networks for $1.2 billion, a move that will accelerate the Schaumburg-based company’s planned break-up into separate businesses.
The deal, expected to close at the end of 2010, will boost Nokia Siemen’s standing in key markets such as the U.S. and Japan, while allowing Motorola to devote more attention to the enterprise mobility unit that makes communications equipment for public safety agencies and industrial companies. Get the full story »
July 19, 2010 at 10:30 a.m.
Filed under:
Jobs/employment,
Policy,
Politics,
Updated
President Obama on Monday called on Republicans to put aside politics and to join with Democrats in approving an extension of jobless benefits. Speaking from the Rose Garden, Obama repeated his recent themes, criticizing the Republicans for refusing to pass the $34 billion extension pending in the Senate.
July 9, 2010 at 12:02 p.m.
Filed under:
Computers,
Consumer news,
Design,
Updated
By Mary Ellen Podmolik
A design from Threadless.com. (Dell)
The Chicago-based company Threadless, which has been putting artists’ designs on T-shirts for a decade, now is giving consumers something for their fingertips and something else for their feet.
Threadless announced on Thursday that it had partnered with Dell to offer 11 of its designs on the lids of Dell Mini or Dell Studio laptop PCs. And on Monday, it will announce a separate venture to offer six of its designs, including two new ones, on high-end Havaianas flip flops.
The partnerships highlight moves to extend the Threadless brand and the artistic expressions of its 80,000+ artists beyond the well-known T-shirts. Company executives also have had discussions about putting designs on water towers, beverage containers and integrating them into video games. Get the full story »
July 9, 2010 at 11:38 a.m.
Filed under:
Bankruptcy,
Commercial real estate,
Retail,
Updated
By Dow Jones Newswires
General Growth Properties Inc. is seeking court approval to replace its $400 million bankruptcy loan with a new financing package, which the shopping-mall operator said will allow it to save several million dollars in interest payments each month.
In court papers filed Thursday, General Growth said it has struck a deal with Barclays Bank PLC to take out a $400 million bankruptcy loan to replace a similar loan from a group of lenders led by Farallon Capital Management LLC. Get the full story »
July 7, 2010 at 5:02 p.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Consumer news,
Litigation,
Updated
By Becky Yerak
Two HSBC units were hit with two federal class-action lawsuits last week claiming they’ve sold confusing credit-card “payment protection” plans to senior citizens, the unemployed and disabled residents in New Jersey and Pennsylvania who might not be eligible for the coverage plans.
The lawsuits against HSBC Bank USA and HSBC Card Services Inc., which is based in Illinois, were filed July 2 in U.S. district courts in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and seek class-action status. The suits claim that HSBC, whose U.S. consumer finance unit is headquartered in Mettawa, marketed such “payment protection” products called “Personal Account Protection,” “Personal Account Protection Elite” and “Account Secure Plus” to credit-card customers.
HSBC declined to comment. Get the full story »
By Alejandra Cancino
Dylan Maki, 4, of Evanston, plays with his Happy Meal toy outside of the McDonald's at Navy Pier on July 7, 2010. (William DeShazer/Chicago Tribune)
McDonald’s defended its Happy Meals on Wednesday against claims by a consumer advocacy group, with McDonald’s CEO Jim Skinner saying that “Happy Meals are a fun treat, with right-sized, quality food choices.”
Skinner’s letter addressing this issue comes a week after the Center for Science in the Public Interest sent a letter to McDonald’s threatening to sue if the company didn’t stop using toys to market Happy Meals to young children.
“By advertising that Happy Meals include toys, McDonald’s unfairly and deceptively markets directly to children,” the letter stated. Get the full story »
July 6, 2010 at 9:43 a.m.
Filed under:
Housing,
Mortgages,
Real estate,
Updated
By Kathy Bergen
Home loan delinquencies, excluding those loans already in foreclosure, rose 2.3 percent in May, to 9.2 percent nationally, according to a mortgage monitor report released Tuesday by Lender Processing Services Inc.
Meanwhile, the foreclosure inventory remained relatively stable compared with April, at 3.18 percent of all mortgage loans outstanding, the company reported.
Illinois is among the 10 states with the most loans in foreclosure or delinquency, with a rate of 13.6 percent of active loans. Nationwide, the rate is 12.38 percent.
By Alejandra Cancino
Apple Inc. said Friday its formula to calculate signal strength is “totally wrong,” and that it will start using a new formula by AT&T to calculate how many bars to display to represent signal strength.
The announcement comes as customers continue to complain of a significant loss in signal when holding the iPhone G4 in a certain way that seems to interfere with the phone’s antenna. Unlike previous iPhones, the new phone’s antenna is a steel frame that wraps around the device. Get the full story »
July 1, 2010 at 10:37 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Jobs/employment,
Updated
By Reuters
New claims for state jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week, while manufacturing activity and employment slowed in June, heightening fears the U.S. economic recovery is stalling.
The data on Thursday added to concerns over the risk of a double-dip recession, although many analysts said a renewed downturn was unlikely as the production side of the economy continues to expand, though less briskly than earlier. Get the full story »
June 30, 2010 at 5:33 p.m.
Filed under:
Consumer news,
Government,
Updated
By Wailin Wong
Commonwealth Edison is seeking an electricity rate hike of about 7 percent, a move quickly met with skepticism from consumer advocates.
ComEd’s proposal, filed Wednesday with the Illinois Commerce Commission would add less than $6 per month to the average residential monthly bill of $86, the company said in a statement. Any approved new rates would not take effect until June 2011. The utility said it would use the money to modernize its grid by investing in technology that reduces the duration and number of power outages. The rate hike would also “recover the cost of substantial investments made since the last rate filing in 2007,” the company said. Get the full story »
June 30, 2010 at 11:31 a.m.
Filed under:
Computers,
Consumer news,
Recalls,
Updated
By Problem Solver
Sony Corp. on Wednesday announced a voluntary worldwide recall of approximately 535,000 Vaio laptop computers because of potential overheating and burn hazards. The recall involves certain units of VPCF11 and VPCCW2 series notebooks.
June 30, 2010 at 10:00 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Jobs/employment,
Manufacturing,
Updated
By Alejandra Cancino
A monthly survey of members of the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago reported Wednesday a second month of slowing momentum.
The Chicago Business Barometer, a measure of manufacturing and non-manufacturing activity, slightly decreased from 59.7 to 59.1 in June. June marks the ninth consecutive month of a reading above 50, which indicates expansion. Get the full story »
