southtownstar.suntimes.com

Typical CEO made $9.6M last year, study finds

Fri, 25 May 2012 10:04:00 -0500

Profits at big U.S. companies broke records last year, and so did pay for CEOs. The head of a typical public company made $9.6 million in 2011, according to an analysis by The Associated Press using data from Equilar, an executive pay research firm.

Sweet success in Lockport

Fri, 25 May 2012 19:28:00 -0500

Tried-and-true formula for success helps Hollingworth Candies

Micro distillery to open in Plainfield

Fri, 25 May 2012 23:38:27 -0500

PLAINFIELD — A microdistillery specializing in hand-crafted rum, liqueurs and tequila soon will make its home in Plainfield. The Plainfield Village Board on Monday adopted an ordinance creating a Class S liquor license for Tailwinds Distilling at 14912 S. Eastern Ave., Unit 103. Applicants Toby and Jillian Beall said by distilling each spirit in lower volume batches as opposed to larger operations, greater attention can be paid to quality. The distilling, fermentation, aging, blending, bottling, labeling and packaging will all be done on premises, making Tailwinds’ spirits a truly hand-crafted product, they said. The applicants said there are no other …

Jobless rate in Chicago area falls to 9 percent in April

Fri, 25 May 2012 10:08:00 -0500

The unemployment rate in the Chicago area fell to 9 percent in April from 9.5 percent a year earlier, according to a report released by the Illinois Department of Employment Security Thursday. The rate, which is not seasonally adjusted, was unchanged from March. The Chicago area added 36,100 jobs since April 2011, down from 42,300 added year-over-year in March. The unemployment rate fell year-over-year in 11 metropolitan areas and edged up in one. “Local economies throughout the state continue a pattern of economic growth fueled by job creation,” IDES Director Jay Rowell said in a statement. “We expect that overall …

U.S. stock futures mixed ahead of holiday

Fri, 25 May 2012 10:06:01 -0500

U.S. stock futures were mixed Friday ahead of the long holiday weekend on concerns over the lack of a concrete plan to keep Greece in the European currency union.

Facebook launches iPhone camera app

Thu, 24 May 2012 14:02:00 -0500

Facebook’s rocky initial public offering hasn’t stopped life at the world’s biggest online social network. On Thursday, the company unveiled a camera app for the iPhone.

Caterpillar revises contract proposal for Joliet machinists

Fri, 25 May 2012 08:31:20 -0500

Peoria-based Caterpillar Inc. offered striking machinists at its Joliet plant a modified contract proposal during negotiations with a federal mediator on Thursday, according to company spokesman Rusty Dunn. The union has scheduled a ratification meeting and a vote for Wednesday. “We are not going to discuss the details or specifics of the offer,” Dunn said in an email to The Herald-News. Machinists from Local Lodge 851 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers went out on strike at the Joliet plant on May 1 after their seven-year contract expired. Caterpillar had offered the 780 workers a new six-year …

Wrapports chief Ferro rolls out list of new Sun-Times features

Fri, 25 May 2012 02:22:50 -0500

Michael Ferro Jr., chairman of Sun-Times Media owner Wrapports LLC, unveiled new Sun-Times products that will feature fresh, colorful coverage ranging from society, fashion and gossip to business and sports, and he announced a new multi-million-dollar Sun-Times Foundation to help charitable causes.

Buffett bullish on newspapers

Fri, 25 May 2012 02:18:20 -0500

Briefly: Buffett eyeing buying more newspapers, rates on long-term mortgages hit new low.

Commercial space race crowded behind SpaceX

Fri, 25 May 2012 02:18:14 -0500

WASHINGTON — A privately built space capsule that’s zipping its way to the International Space Station has also launched something else: a new for-profit space race. The capsule called Dragon was due to dock on Friday with its load of supplies. Space Exploration Technologies Corp. — run by PayPal co-founder Elon Musk — was hired by NASA to deliver cargo and eventually astronauts to the orbital outpost. And the space agency is hiring others, too. Several firms think they can make money in space and are close enough to Musk’s company to practically surf in his spaceship’s rocket-fueled wake. There …

Asian carp surveillance ramping up in Illinois

Thu, 24 May 2012 23:20:19 -0500

CHICAGO (AP) — State and federal officials say they’re stepping up efforts to track and test for Asian carp in Illinois waterways this summer. That includes sampling urban fishing ponds, surveying fish markets for live fish and random electrofishing and netting along a network of canals that connect Lake Michigan to the Illinois River. Illinois Department of Natural Resources biologists on Thursday netted two Bighead carp at the Garfield Park Lagoon in Chicago. Bighead and silver carp are the two Asian species biologists are worried about. DNR spokesman Chris McCloud says the fish had probably been in the lagoon for …

H-P leads Dow to its fourth day of gains in May

Thu, 24 May 2012 17:22:17 -0500

Hewlett-Packard helped pull the Dow Jones industrial average to a slight gain Thursday, giving the index only its fourth gain this month. The Dow closed up 33.60 points at 12,529.75. Fears that Europe’s troubles could turn into a worldwide financial crisis have pushed the 30-stock average down 5 percent this month, erasing most of its gains for the year.

Gas prices drop in time for Memorial Day travel; hotels, airfares rise

Thu, 24 May 2012 12:34:01 -0500

As Memorial Day weekend approaches, gasoline prices will continue to put less of a hurt on your wallet thanks to the continuing plunge in oil prices, which dropped below $90 a barrel for the first time in seven months Wednesday. But travelers will pay more for hotels and airfares this holiday weekend.

Facebook stock climbs, but company faces lawsuits

Thu, 24 May 2012 02:24:52 -0500

Facebook’s fourth day of trading as a public company saw an increase in the company’s stock price and shareholder lawsuits related to the social network’s botched initial public offering.

Facebook proves a lesson in the risks of IPO investing

Fri, 25 May 2012 02:28:47 -0500

Facebook investors who assumed getting in on an IPO was a get-rich-quick scheme, just got a hard slap across the cheek, instead.

30-year rate falls to record 3.78%

Fri, 25 May 2012 02:28:53 -0500

The average U.S. rate for the 30-year fixed mortgage fell to a record low for a fourth straight week. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the rate dipped to 3.78 percent. The 15-year mortgage held steady at 3.04, matching the record low hit last week.