Crain's Chicago Business

(AP) — Gatorade confirmed Tuesday it is discontinuing its Tiger Woods drink but says it made the decision before the golfer's car accident led to a media firestorm surrounding his personal life. The decision to drop the drink, called Tiger Focus, was first reported by trade publication ... Full Story »

(Reuters) — Procter & Gamble Co. is nearing the purchase of Sara Lee Corp.'s air care unit for about $700 million, CNBC said on Tuesday, citing a Wall Street Journal report. Both P&G and Sara Lee representatives were not immediately available for comment. Although P&G has been quiet about ... Full Story »

(AP) — Caterpillar Logistics Services plans to open a new parts distribution center in southwest Ohio. Caterpillar Logistics is a subsidiary of mining and construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar Inc. of Peoria. Caterpillar spokeswoman Bridget Young said Tuesday that the new center ... Full Story »

(Crain’s) — Amid growing national scrutiny of physicians’ financial dealings with health care companies, Northwestern University’s medical school said Tuesday that it is publicly disclosing the business relationships of its 2,000 faculty members. The decision makes Feinberg School of ... Full Story »

(Reuters) — Moody's Investors Service on Tuesday downgraded Illinois' general obligation bond rating to A2 from A1, citing the state's financial woes stemming from the U.S. recession. Moody's cut other Illinois ratings, affecting about $24 billion of outstanding debt, including the state's ... Full Story »

(Crain’s) — ShoreBank has an answer for supporters who have asked how they can help the troubled Chicago-based community bank: Make a deposit. A big one. The South Side lender — one of the highest-profile community banks in the country, known for lending in disadvantaged urban ... Full Story »

(AP) — For-profit education provider DeVry Inc. on Tuesday said fall enrollment for undergraduates at its DeVry University unit accelerated from a year ago as the bad economy drives students to school. The Oakbrook Terrace-based company said undergraduate enrollments rose 22.7 percent to ... Full Story »

(Crain’s) — The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago’s Aug. 11 bond sale cost taxpayers an extra $8 million and created a “bonanza” for bankers and investors, according to a report by Bloomberg News. Mesirow Financial Inc. led the agency’s underwriters, who ... Full Story »

(AP) — The supersized recession that was a boon for business last year caught up further with McDonald's Corp. in November, as high unemployment ate into sales. While the world's largest burger chain is still faring better than its competitors, who've increasingly been pushing value menus and ... Full Story »

(AP) — United Airlines said Tuesday it would buy its first new jets since 1998, splitting an order for 50 planes between Airbus and Boeing Co. United said it ordered 25 of Boeing's long-awaited 787 widebody jetliners and 25 of the Airbus A350. Delivery is expected between 2016 and 2019, around ... Full Story »

(Crain’s) — More Chicago-area employers plan to cut workers than those who will add employees in first-quarter 2010. Employment services firm Manpower Inc. found that among companies it surveyed in the Chicago-Naperville-Joliet area, 16% plan to cut payroll during the first three months of ... Full Story »

(Crain’s) — MB Financial Inc. CEO Mitchell Feiger will see his salary jump 58% to $1.1 million next year as the Chicago-based bank holding adjusts senior executives’ pay to reflect the inability to pay bonuses, a restriction the federal government imposes on lenders participating in the ... Full Story »

(AP) — A transgender teenager says a McDonald's restaurant in Florida discriminated against her when managers refused to interview her for a job, according to a complaint filed Monday. Zikerria Bellamy, 17, said two managers at an Orlando restaurant wouldn't give her an interview on two ... Full Story »

(AP) — Prosecutors say an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court battle over the type of charges used in the indictment against former Gov. Rod Blagojevich shouldn't delay his trial's scheduled June 3 start date. The controversial law barring officials from depriving government of their honest ... Full Story »

(Crain’s) — Giant turkey legs, baseball and the Bears were the most popular topics among local Yahoo mobile searchers this year. When Yahoo broke down its top mobile searches for Chicago in 2009, it offered an insight into its users, the firm said. “This gives you a pulse on what ... Full Story »

(Crain’s) — Aon Corp. is buying a commercial insurance brokerage specializing in the construction industry. Chicago-based Aon said Monday that it has a definitive agreement to purchase Jericho, N.Y.-based Allied North America. Allied had 2008 revenue of just over $88 million, making it the ... Full Story »

(AP) — Navistar International Corp. said Monday it bought Continental Mfg. Company Inc., a privately held manufacturer of concrete mixers. Financial terms were not disclosed. Navistar, whose subsidiaries make heavy trucks, buses and recreational vehicles, said Continental will operate ... Full Story »

(Crain’s) — Loyola University Chicago will become the owner of the Cuneo Museum and Gardens as part of a $50-million donation of money and real estate that the Cuneo family has made to the school. The gift, announced Monday, is the largest ever made to Loyola University Chicago and comes ... Full Story »

(Crain’s) — MB Financial Inc. plans to close three of the five Benchmark Bank branches it acquired over the weekend after regulators shut down the small Aurora-based bank Friday. Chicago-based MB will shutter two Downstate locations, as well as the St. Charles branch of Benchmark, whose ... Full Story »

(Reuters) — British confectioner Cadbury said on Monday it would post a formal response to Kraft's $16 billion takeover offer on Dec. 14. "Under U.S. securities law, Cadbury is prohibited from publishing any further information, or making any further statement, until it has issued its ... Full Story »

(Reuters) — Fertilizer maker CF Industries Holdings Inc. raised its offer for smaller rival Terra Industries Inc. by more than 10 percent, bringing the value of the hostile takeover bid to $4.58 billion. The move is the latest chapter in a year-long, three-way takeover battle and lifts CF's ... Full Story »

(AP) — Heavy equipment maker Deere & Co.'s president and chief executive Samuel R. Allen, who held those offices only the last two months of the company's fiscal 2009 after his promotion within the company, received annual compensation of $4.28 million for the year. Allen, 56, took the helm ... Full Story »

(AP) — Police Superintendent Jody Weis says the investigation of the death of Chicago Board of Education President Michael Scott's death is complete. Weis said Friday there's no evidence the 60-year-old was a crime victim. He added the physical evidence points to suicide. The Cook County ... Full Story »

(AP) — Burglars broke into the offices occupied by two members of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's legal defense team overnight and stole eight computers and a safe, police said Friday. The break-in occurred at the South Side offices of veteran Chicago criminal defense lawyer Sam Adam and his ... Full Story »

(AP) — A trade group says closing a canal lock near Chicago in a bid to stop the Asian carp from reaching Lake Michigan could deliver a financial blow to tug and barge companies. An Obama administration adviser said Friday a decision could come within days on whether to temporarily close ... Full Story »