Post-Tribune

Foreclosure pact promises more trouble

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 20:10:01 -0600

The foreclosure settlement involving Illinois and 48 other states is much ado about $25 billion, but for homeowners still in a heap of financial trouble, it signifies little besides more pain. The banks involved will like it, and their investors should draw comfort as well. By settling, the five large banks have indemnified themselves against civil lawsuits over robo-signing and faked paperwork. Criminal charges are possible, but hardly likely. The banks get financial certainty as opposed to the prospect of endless litigation. That should help the shares of four banks involved — JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup …

Dow closes down 89 points after Greek deal is held up

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:40:01 -0600

Stocks had their worst day of the year Friday after Greece hit a roadblock on its way to a critical bailout. The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 89.23 points, or 0.7 percent, at 12,801.23.

Interest rates are low, but saved money is safe

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 02:03:25 -0600

A couple of weeks ago we talked about the guidance provided by the Federal Reserve that it intended to keep short-term interest rates low through 2014. That column got me some feedback from people who seemed ready to throw in the towel on their money markets and bank deposits. I guess after three years of no returns on their bank deposits, they were just simply not willing to go another three. I certainly empathize with this frustration. Savers feel like they are the ones who did what they were supposed to do, saved their pennies, watched their spending and achieved …

CD music warehouse to shut down; 248 jobs lost

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:40:22 -0600

FISHERS, Ind. (AP) — Sony DADC Americas says it will start shutting down its Fishers compact disc warehouse in May and will lay off all 248 workers by September. The New-York based company announced its plans Friday. It said employees were notified Wednesday. The Indianapolis Business Journal reports the distribution center handles compact discs for EMI Music, Universal Music and Sony Music. A company spokeswoman says CD sales have fallen dramatically in recent years while more consumers switched to digital downloads to listen to music. The IBJ says Amarillo, Texas-based Anderson Merchandisers LP will pick up Sony DADC’s distribution agreements …

Auto industry’s recovery brings more pizzazz to Chicago show

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:20:42 -0600

Going to the Chicago Auto Show is like strolling through a dream world. The vehicles shine in the spotlights. Sticker prices are given in understated fashion or not at all. There is no suggestion of recalls, insurance payments, dinged fenders, balky starters or oil leaks. As you comparison shop at this year’s show at McCormick Place, opening Friday and running through Feb. 19, it’s easy to forget that reviled products such as the Yugo or the Ford Pinto once held center stage at the event. This shiny paint job, too, shall pass. But with that perspective aside, it’s apparent this …

Ford Interceptor police vehicles well received

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:04:13 -0600

Ford Motor Co. has received orders from 40 state and local governments in Illinois for its 2013 Police Interceptors, according to executives at the Chicago Auto Show preview. The police vehicles are made at a plant in the Hegewisch neighborhood on Chicago’s southeast side. Orders for the Interceptor have come from the Cook County sheriff’s police and Illinois state police, said communications director Mike Moran. Suburbs such as Itasca, Elmhurst, Winnetka and Chicago Ridge also are purchasing the vehicle. At press time, Ford officials couldn’t confirm if they have received any orders from Northwest Indiana police departments. Adding the Interceptor …

FBI releases files on Apple founder Steve Jobs

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:20:53 -0600

The FBI Thursday released its file on the late Apple founder Steve Jobs which includes comments from former friends and associates, including one source who describes him as “a deceptive individual who is not completely forthright and honest.”

NRC approves first new nuclear plant in three decades

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:06:04 -0600

WASHINGTON — The nation’s first new nuclear power plant in a generation won approval Thursday as federal regulators voted to grant a license for two new reactors at a site in eastern Georgia. Atlanta-based Southern Co. hopes to begin operating the $14 billion reactors at its Vogtle site south of Augusta as soon as 2016. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the company’s plans on a 4-1 vote. The NRC last approved construction of a nuclear plant in 1978, a year before a partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania. After that accident, fears of a radiation …

13K Indiana foreclosure victims to get $2K checks

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:04:58 -0600

INDIANAPOLIS — Underwater Indiana homeowners will receive about $43 million in refinanced loans while other borrowers will get $30 million worth of loan-term modifications and other relief as part of a $25 billion nationwide settlement with the country’s biggest mortgage lenders, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller said Thursday. The deal mends foreclosure abuses that occurred after the housing bubble burst, and requires five of the largest banks — Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Ally Financial — to reduce loans for about 1 million households at risk of foreclosure and send checks to about 750,000 Americans who …

$25B settlement reached over foreclosure abuses

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:05:04 -0600

WASHINGTON — A landmark $25 billion settlement with the nation’s top mortgage lenders was hailed by government officials Thursday as long-overdue relief for victims of foreclosure abuses. But consumer advocates countered that far too few people will benefit. The deal will reduce loans for only a fraction of those Americans who owe more than their homes are worth. It will also send checks to others who were improperly foreclosed upon. But the amounts are modest. It’s unclear how much the deal will help struggling homeowners keep their homes or benefit those who have already lost theirs. About 11 million households …

Kodak to stop making cameras

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:33:22 -0600

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Picture it: Save for a few disposable point-and-shoots, Kodak is exiting the camera business. Eastman Kodak Co. said Thursday that it will stop making digital cameras, pocket video cameras and digital picture frames in a move that marks the end of an era for the beleaguered 132-year-old company. Founded by George Eastman in 1880, Kodak was known all over the world for iconic cameras such as the Brownie and the Instamatic. For the last few decades, however, the Rochester, New York-based company has struggled. It was battered by Japanese competition in the 1980s, and failed to keep …

Hoosier wheat ‘excellent’ despite wet planting season

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:07:41 -0600

WEST LAFAYETTE (AP) — A Purdue University agronomist says Indiana’s winter wheat crop is healthy and on track despite wet weather at planting time last fall. Those wet fields have slightly reduced the state’s wheat acreage, though. Agronomist Herb Ohm says the wet fall delayed planting a bit, but the mild winter has meant no substantial winter kill to the crop. Ohm says the state also hasn’t had many heavy rains that would have led to ponding in the fields. Overall, he says the wheat is in “excellent condition.” Indiana farmers have planted about 430,000 acres of winter wheat for …

Pepsico to cut 8,700 jobs, 150 in Chicago

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:13:21 -0600

PepsiCo said it plans to cut 8,700 jobs, including about 150 in Chicago, as it tries to offset higher costs for ingredients and increased spending on advertising in North America. Pepsico employs roughly 2,000 people in Chicago at its Gatorade, Tropicana and Quaker headquarters site.

Benchmark mortgage rate holds at record low

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:13:04 -0600

Thirty-year, fixed home mortgage rates stayed at a record-low average of 3.87 percent this week while other rates edged up slightly, Freddie Mac said Thursday. The average 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage rate climbed to 3.16 percent from 3.14 percent. The average five-year, adjustable rate mortgage rose to 2.83 percent from 2.8 percent, and the one-year ARM rose to an average 2.78 percent from 2.76 percent. Francine Knowles …

Stocks close slightly higher as Greek talks drag on

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:28:01 -0600

Stocks are finishing higher as Greece appears to be closer to the cost-cutting deal it needs to keep from defaulting on debt. The Dow finished six points higher Wednesday at 12,884. The S&P 500 index edged up three to 1,350.

Southlake Mall attracts high-end restaurant, stores

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:48:46 -0600

HOBART — A trendy winery/restaurant, a high-fashion boutique and a tea bar will mark their Northwest Indiana debuts by opening in Westfield Southlake shopping center. Cooper’s Hawk Winery Restaurant is slated to open in the summer, while Akira boutique and Teavana tea bar will open this spring, mall spokeswoman Lia Osburn said Wednesday. “I think the addition of these three stores will bring something different to Northwest Indiana. It will bring here what people have had to travel to get,” Osburn said. “I’m very excited about these new shops.” She said Cooper’s Hawk will open in the area formerly occupied …