The Tally
More Blue Cross workers move to downtown Detroit
Posted on 25. Jan, 2012 by admin in The Tally
Last week’s relocation begins the final wave of Blue Cross Blue Shield employees heading to the downtown building. Photo: Mike Russell
DETROIT – Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is moving another 125 workers into the nonprofit health insurer’s new offices in the Renaissance Center in Detroit.
About 2,100 were moved last year, and more than 1,200 workers are expected to do the same by June. The move to the Renaissance Center is expected to save Blue Cross $30 million in long-term real estate costs.
Blue Cross covers 4.4 million of Michigan’s 9.9 million residents. AP
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Concordia disaster could cost industry millions
Posted on 25. Jan, 2012 by admin in The Tally
Collision of Costa Concordia. Photo: Roberto Vongher
NEW YORK – The capsizing of the Costa Concordia could not have come at a worse time for the cruise industry – right at the start of the peak booking season.
Even if passengers aren’t scared away, the accident will cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
It’s too early to tell exactly how much insurance firms will have to pay out to cover the damage to the ship and loss of life, but analysts have estimated that claims could total at least $500 million. One went as far as to say the total bill for insurers could reach $1 billion
At least 11 people died in the accident with nearly two dozen others still missing. AP
Associated Press text, photo and/or graphic material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. Neither these AP Materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use. The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing.
By SCOTT MAYEROWITZ
AP Business Writer
Chrysler Town & Country Awarded for 7th Year in a Row
Posted on 25. Jan, 2012 by admin in The Tally
2012 Chrysler Town & Country
AUBURN HILLS, Mich., — The 2012 Chrysler Town & Country was awarded the Detroit News Readers’ Choice “Best Family Hauler” for a seventh year in a row. A panel of consumer-minded Detroit News reader-judges selected the 2012 Chrysler Town & Country as the best family vehicle at the 2012 North American International Auto Show.
“Chrysler has been the lead innovator in the minivan segment for over 20 years, and the Detroit News Readers’ Choice Award for Best Family Hauler demonstrates that consumers continue to take notice,” said Saad Chehab, Head, Chrysler Brand – Chrysler Group LLC. PRNewswire
Mid-America Completes Ground Lease Sale for New Aldi Building in Chatham
Posted on 30. Dec, 2011 by citizen in Bill's Business, The Tally
CHICAGO – Mid-America Real Estate Corporation’s Net Lease Investment Group recently announced the $1.8 million sale of a triple net ground lease for a new 16,750 square-foot freestanding Aldi building in Chicago’s Chatham community. The buyer is a private California investor. According to Mid-America broker Bill Wright, whose firm was the exclusive representative for the seller, this transaction is another example of private investors putting their money into “hands-off” net leased retail properties that require no landlord maintenance. “This deal continues the trend of West Coast private capital seeking investment in solid ‘core’ Midwestern markets,” he says, “and this ground lease is a perfect example of what they’re looking for here.” The Aldi building was constructed in 2011, and is located at 8500 South Holland Road.
Lawsuit Seeks More Minority Hires For River Bridge
Posted on 12. Dec, 2011 by citizen in The Tally
Steel girders for the Illinois approach to the Mississippi River Bridge. Photo: Missouri Department of Transportation
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – A group representing minority contractors and workers has sued the Illinois Department of Transportation for $650 million, claiming the state hasn’t done enough to hire underrepresented laborers for projects including a new Mississippi River bridge at St. Louis.
The federal lawsuit, filed in East St. Louis by Metro East Black Contractors Organization Inc., looks to halt the additional awarding of contracts until a judge address what the group has decried as racism in doling out work for such regional projects.
“We’ve done everything we know to do, demonstrating and all of that. And we get these promises but they don’t follow through,” said William Mason, president of the 11-year-old contractors’ group.
“Right now, we see workers coming here carpooling long-distance doing work while trained workers in struggling area towns stand on street corners, looking for jobs.”
Metro East is striving to bolster employment of workers from East St. Louis and other largely black communities nearby that are plagued by poverty and violent crime. AP
by JIM SUHR
Gates back on stand in Utah in $1B antitrust trial
Posted on 27. Nov, 2011 by citizen in The Tally
By PAUL FOY
Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY – Microsoft’s Bill Gates has returned to the witness stand to defend his company in a billion-dollar lawsuit filed by a once-rival software maker.
Novell Inc. says Microsoft tricked it into thinking its WordPerfect writing application would be included in Microsoft’s Windows 95 rollout. Novell says it was later forced to sell WordPerfect for a $1.2 billion loss.
Gates is Microsoft’s first witness in the federal case in Salt Lake City.
Gates says Microsoft dumped a feature that would have supported WordPerfect because he feared it would crash Windows.
The Microsoft co-founder also says that by 1994, WordPerfect’s market share was already declining, while Microsoft’s own Word program was gaining ground.
A judge denied a motion by Microsoft attorneys to dismiss the case.
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Quinn Praises Google-Motorola Mobility Deal
Posted on 23. Aug, 2011 by citizen in The Tally
CHICAGO (AP) _ Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn is praising Google’s deal to buy cellphone maker Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc.
Quinn said Monday there’s an opportunity for jobs and economic growth because of the $12.5 billion deal. He says Google is committed to Illinois and this will expand their presence here. Google already has offices in downtown Chicago.
The state of Illinois previously offered Motorola Mobility more than $110 million in incentives to keep their headquarters in the Chicago suburb of Libertyville and to retain local jobs.
Google made the all-cash acquisition for Motorola Mobility because it’s battling Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. for dominance in the mobile computing market.
Quinn says Illinois has a great opportunity to grow technology.
Associated Press text, photo and/or graphic material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. Neither these AP Materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use. The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing.
Detroit Casinos Work To Bank On Social Media
Posted on 23. Aug, 2011 by citizen in The Tally
DETROIT (AP) _ Detroit’s three casinos are using social media as they compete for customers among themselves as well as with nearby Caesars Windsor in Canada.
The Detroit News reports that the casinos are sending messages about jackpots and promotions and responding to queries via Twitter and Facebook. One aim is to provide a new level of customer service in an increasingly competitive gambling market.
MotorCity Casino Hotel has more Twitter followers and Facebook fans than MGM Grand Detroit or Greektown Casino Hotel. MotorCity’s president and CEO Gregg Solomon said social media has become “a huge area of our efforts” in the past year and a half.
MGM Grand is using social media to interact with customers. And Greektown says it is becoming a more important part of its marketing mix.
Associated Press text, photo and/or graphic material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. Neither these AP Materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use. The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing.
Sara Lee, Kraft Argue Wiener War In Federal Court
Posted on 23. Aug, 2011 by citizen in The Tally
By MICHAEL TARM
Associated Press
CHICAGO (AP) _ America’s largest hot dog makers argued about the meaning of “100 percent pure beef” and the merits of ketchup in a lawsuit over advertising claims stemming from their years of dog-eat-dog competition.
Attorneys for Sara Lee Corp., which makes Ball Park franks, and Kraft Foods Inc., which makes Oscar Mayer, superimposed giant hot dogs on a courtroom screen as they delivered opening remarks in a case that could clarify how far companies can go when boasting about their products.
“There’s never been anything of this scope . . . in the entire history of hot dogs,” Sara Lee’s attorney, Richard Leighton, said about what the company says is Kraft’s false and deceptive ad campaign that claimed Oscar Mayer wieners were the best-tasting frankfurters.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Morton Denlow, who will decide if either company broke false advertising laws, couldn’t resist a note of levity as he cast his eyes at the attorneys and proclaimed, “Let the wiener wars begin.”
The trial is expected to last about two weeks.
Associated Press text, photo and/or graphic material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. Neither these AP Materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use. The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing.
Regulator Sues Goldman Sachs Over Risky Mortgages
Posted on 09. Aug, 2011 by citizen in The Tally
By ALEX VEIGA
AP Business Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) _ The U.S. regulator of credit unions is suing Goldman Sachs & Co. for more than $491 million in damages over losses incurred by five failed wholesale credit unions that bought mortgage-backed securities from the investment bank.
The National Credit Union Administration filed the lawsuit on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
The federal regulatory agency claims Goldman Sachs misrepresented how risky the mortgage-backed securities it sold were.
The agency says that when the value of the securities plunged, that led the credit unions to fail.
Regulators have asserted similar claims in lawsuits against JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Royal Bank of Scotland PLC.
The NCUA says it may sue five to 10 other banks in coming weeks.
Goldman Sachs did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Credit unions are non-profit financial institutions that are owned and operated entirely by their members. They provide financial services for their members, including savings and lending.
Associated Press text, photo and/or graphic material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. Neither these AP Materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use. The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing.
