ChicagoBusiness.com Breaking News

Cubs bidders cut to 3

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:27:00 EST

(Reuters) — At least three groups submitted offers to Tribune Co on Monday, in the latest round of bidding for the Chicago Cubs baseball team, two sources familiar with the process said on Monday. Groups led by Tom Ricketts, chief executive of Chicago investment bank Incapital LLC and the son ...

State shortchanged hurt workers for 30 years: Greg Hinz Blog

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:10:00 EST

(Crain's) — Oops! The state unit that handles compensation claims for injured workers has concluded that Illinois short-changed at least some beneficiaries and their heirs, and that it did so for as long as a stunning 30 years. Neither the Workers' Compensation Commission nor anyone ...

CME volume down 29% in Nov.

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:05:00 EST

(AP) — Shares of CME Group Inc. fell Monday as the broader market tumbled on concern about the economy and as an analyst reported that the exchange operator's November trading volume fell 28.7 percent. CME shares fell $28.22, or 13 percent, to $183.73 in afternoon trading. Elsewhere, the ...

Durbin asks President Bush to commute Ryan's sentence

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:22:00 EST

(AP) — U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin has asked the president to commute former Gov. George Ryan's corruption sentence. Durbin on Monday released a letter he sent asking President George W. Bush to "consider commuting the sentence of George Ryan to time served." Ryan has served one year of a ...

Condell settles fraud charges for $36M

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:08:00 EST

(Crain’s) — Condell Medical Center announced Monday that it will pay $36 million to head off a federal lawsuit related to contracts between the Libertyville hospital and physicians. The U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago said in a statement that the 283-bed hospital avoided the suit — ...

Recession began Dec. '07, economic group says

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:03:00 EST

(AP) — The U.S. economy has been in a recession since December 2007, the National Bureau of Economic Research said Monday. The NBER — a private, nonprofit research organization — said its group of academic economists who determine business cycles met and decided that the U.S. recession ...

Retailers' wish list: strong online holiday sales

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:54:00 EST

(Crain’s) — Now comes online retailers’ turn to try to get consumers into the holiday buying spirit: It’s Cyber Monday, considered the unofficial kickoff to the online shopping season. Online stores have ramped up their own fat discounts and other promotions to attract holiday shoppers. ...

Walgreen completes McKesson purchase

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:57:00 EST

(AP) — Drugstore operator Walgreen Co. said Monday it has completed its acquisition of the specialty pharmacy business of drug distributor McKesson Corp. The deal includes McKesson's Pittsburgh-based specialty pharmacy and IVPCARE, a Frisco, Texas-based pharmacy focused on reproductive ...

Sprayregen returning to Kirkland

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:49:00 EST

(Crain’s) — It's back to the future for James Sprayregen. The name-brand bankruptcy attorney, who left Kirkland & Ellis LLP in mid-2006 for investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc., is returning to Kirkland later this month, just as the economic downturn is poised to spur bankruptcy ...

UAL selling $200M in new stock

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:56:00 EST

(Crain’s) — United Airlines intends to sell up to $200 million in new stock through J. P. Morgan Securities Inc. and Morgan Stanley & Co., the company said in a filing Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Chicago-based airline didn't say when it intends to sell the stock ...

Dow drops 680; reverses last week's gains

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 09:59:00 EST

(AP) — Investors uneasy about the holiday shopping season gave back most of Wall Street's recent gains Monday, sending the Dow Jones industrial average down nearly 700 points. The Dow shed 679.95 points, or nearly 8 percent, on Monday to close at 8,149.09. Local blue chips were all down: ...

Obama adds Clinton, Gates to cabinet

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 09:33:00 EST

(AP) — President-elect Barack Obama has chosen his former chief rival for the Democratic nomination to be his secretary of state. At a news conference Monday in Chicago, Obama announced that he's chosen Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to lead the State Department. GREG HINZ BLOGIt was and is a ...

Sumner Redstone sells stake in Midway Games

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 09:26:00 EST

(Reuters) — Sumner Redstone has sold his stake in video game company Midway Games Inc., according to a filing on Monday, as the media mogul tries to bolster the finances of his theater chain company, National Amusements Inc. Redstone, National Amusements and another related company, Sumco ...

Chicago's Stake in Detroit

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 06:32:00 EST

The collapse of a Detroit automaker would send shock waves through Chicago, from South Side manufacturers to northwest suburban dealerships to downtown TV studios. As General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC seek a multibillion-dollar lifeline from the federal government, many ...

Suburban homebuilder's troubles deepen

, 30 Nov 2008 06:25:00 EST

Lenders are turning up the pressure on Pasquinelli Homebuilding LLC, another local developer buffeted by the housing crisis. In recent months, Park National Bank has filed foreclosure lawsuits on Pasquinelli projects in Kane County and in South Carolina, alleging the Burr Ridge-based homebuilder ...

McDonald's high-low plan for hard times

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 13:21:00 EST

McDonald's Corp. is taking on the recession with a strategy of cheap eats and pricey drinks. Missing from the menu so far are any new entrees. While competitors Burger King and Wendy's have announced new premium offerings, including ribs and gourmet burgers, McDonald's has signaled no such ...

Aon to cut 500-700 jobs as part of Benfield deal

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 16:56:00 EST

(Crain’s) — Aon Corp. announced Friday it completed the $1.43 billion acquisition of Benfield Group Limited and will eliminate 500 to 700 jobs as part of a restructuring plan associated with the deal. The plan is expected to save $33 million to $41 million in 2009 and $122 million in ...

Parts suppliers bear brunt of Detroit’s woes

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 04:09:00 EST

(Crain’s) — In the past 20 years, there’s been a fundamental split in the North American auto industry between the three U.S.-based automakers, whose sales have been falling steadily, and foreign automakers, mainly from Japan, which have established manufacturing plants in the U.S. to meet ...

Discounts, promotions lure local shoppers despite gloom

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 14:18:00 EST

(Crain’s) — Despite worries of a flagging economy, discounts and promotions lured more shoppers than usual to suburban Chicago malls on Black Friday. In the early morning, foot traffic was sparse along Michigan Avenue, where discounts were harder to find, but it began picking up around ...

Potential buyer for Unilever's Franklin Park plant

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 14:14:00 EST

(Crain’s) — A potential buyer has emerged for the soon-to-close Franklin Park food plant owned by consumer products giant Unilever, Crain’s has learned. “There’s no final agreement at this time, I don’t want to jinx anything . . . (but) we’ve got someone very interested in it,” ...