Crain's Chicago Business

(AP) — Mutual of Omaha may have had its own "aha moment" when the insurance company decided to drop its lawsuit against Oprah Winfrey's company over the rights to that phrase. But documents filed in U.S. District Court don't indicate what led Mutual to ask for the dismissal, and company ... Full Story »

(Reuters) — Academy-award winning actor Warren Beatty can go ahead with a California lawsuit against a unit of bankrupt Tribune Co. over rights to comic strip detective Dick Tracy, a federal judge ruled on Monday. According to court papers, Beatty bought the motion picture and television rights ... Full Story »

(AP) — United Airlines is shaving a few bucks off upgrades to roomier "economy plus" seats through Friday. The airline, a unit of UAL Corp., charges customers the base fare plus the extra "economy plus" charge to sit at the front of the coach cabin. The cheapest upgrade on the shortest ... Full Story »

(AP) — Retailer Sears Holdings Corp. said Monday it named John D. Goodman executive vice president of its apparel and home unit. Goodman will be responsible for the oversight and leadership of Sears Holdings' apparel and home businesses in stores and online. Sears said it will establish a ... Full Story »

(Crain’s) — CME Group Inc., which owns the three biggest U.S. futures exchanges, has renewed its $1-million consulting contract with the former CEO of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The one-year contract means James Newsome will continue on as the CME’s highest-paid consultant at ... Full Story »

(Reuters) - McDonald's Corp. said sales at established U.S. restaurants fell 0.1 percent in October, as expected, but its stock ticked up 1.4 percent after sales from the rest of the world buoyed overall results. McDonald's, which has been outperforming its peers, had signaled last month that ... Full Story »

(Reuters) - Kraft Foods Inc. chief Irene Rosenfeld refused to sweeten her $16.2 billion offer for candy maker Cadbury Plc and took the bid directly to shareholders on Monday, setting the stage for a takeover battle that could last up to three months. North American food giant Kraft repeated on ... Full Story »

(Crain’s) — Dunkin’ Donuts will begin selling six items for 99 cents on Monday in the Chicago area as it competes with McDonald’s Corp. for eaters looking for cheap breakfast. Dunkin’ Donuts’ limited-time value menu will only be available at its 500 Chicago-area locations and will ... Full Story »

(Reuters) - Wireless LAN vendor Aruba Networks Inc. said it will pay Motorola Inc. $19.8 million to settle certain long-drawn patent disputes that were a drag on Aruba's earnings. The two-year-long disputes involved patents owned by both the parties and the out-of-court settlement includes a ... Full Story »

(Reuters) — Federal officials are investigating how Abbott Laboratories Inc. has marketed the epilepsy drug Depakote, the company said on Friday, the latest U.S. probe of its sales practices. The suburban Chicago drugmaker said in a regulatory filing that the federal prosecutor for the ... Full Story »

(AP) — The clock is ticking on a Monday deadline for Kraft Foods Inc. to make a formal offer for British candy maker Cadbury PLC. Kraft, which makes Oreo cookies, Nabisco crackers and its namesake cheese, on Tuesday told investors to keep an eye on its filings — a clue that a bid may be ... Full Story »

(Crain’s) — Wells Fargo & Co., the nation’s third-largest bank, is putting greater emphasis on local commercial lending, creating a new executive position to run middle-market banking here and promoting a local executive to the post. Lisa Johnson, 48, is Wells Fargo’s regional head for ... Full Story »

(Crain’s) — CBS Corp.'s top executive said the company is "in dialogue" with daytime-TV queen Oprah Winfrey about the status of her long-running syndicated program, amidst speculation that the talk-show host could move her show to a cable start-up she has been working on with Discovery ... Full Story »

(Crain’s) — Big Mac eaters looking to save money or watch their waistlines soon will be able to buy a Mac Snack Wrap, a version of the burger wrapped in a tortilla. McDonald’s Corp. plans to launch the new wrap nationally by January, according to documents obtained by Crain’s. The Oak ... Full Story »

(AP) — The unemployment rate has hit double digits for the first time since 1983 — and is likely to go higher. The 10.2 percent jobless rate for October shows how weak the economy remains even though it is growing. Rising unemployment also could threaten the recovery if it saps consumers' ... Full Story »

(Crain’s) — United Airlines’ makeover is extending to employee uniforms. The airline says it has hired fashion designer — and Chicago-area native — Cynthia Rowley to create new uniforms for pilots, flight attendants and customer service and maintenance workers. The uniforms will roll ... Full Story »

(Reuters) - FreightCar America Inc. posted lower quarterly results missing market expectations due to continued weakness in the railcar market, and said it received no new orders during the period, sending its shares down 15 percent on the day. The railcar maker also said it will cut more jobs ... Full Story »

(AP) — A Minnesota hamburger parlor and McDonald's Corp. have settled a federal lawsuit over the phrase, "Who's your patty?" Michael Lafeber is an attorney for The Lion's Tap in Eden Prairie. He says the parties reached a "mutually beneficial amicable resolution." McDonald's also says a ... Full Story »

(AP) — CF Industries Holdings Inc. has rejected rival fertilizer maker Agrium Inc.'s sweetened takeover bid, saying the $4.5-billion offer significantly undervalues the company. CF Industries rejected the latest bid in a statement on Friday, a day after its Canadian rival had raised its ... Full Story »

(Crain’s) — United Airlines says it will launch its first flights to Africa on May 2 with daily service from Washington, D.C.'s Dulles Airport to Accra, the capital of Ghana, and continuing to Lagos, Nigeria. United also plans to add a leg to Dulles-to-Kuwait flights that would extend ... Full Story »

(Crain’s) — Based on conversations taped by a City Hall insider, federal officials arrested a Naperville man Thursday for allegedly paying bribes last year to operate restaurants at Chicago’s airports. According to an FBI affidavit, Wafeek “Wally” Aiyash, 50, offered to pay $100,000 ... Full Story »

(AP) — The American Medical Association says it supports the House Democratic health care bill, but it can't give a full endorsement yet. AMA President Dr. James Rohack said Thursday that the bill is not perfect, but it meets enough of the Chicago-based organization's goals to deserve ... Full Story »

(Crain's) — OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network made another top executive hire as it gets close to its long-delayed launch, the Los Angeles Times reports. Lisa Erspamer, the co-executive producer of Winfrey's syndicated talk show since 2006, was named to be the channel’s chief creative officer. ... Full Story »

(Crain’s) — A dozen groups pursuing new-media ventures in Chicago received a combined $500,000 from the Community News Matters program, a project supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Chicago Community Trust and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. ... Full Story »

(AP) — Online-travel company Orbitz Worldwide Inc. said Thursday it turned a profit in the third quarter, after charges hurt results a year earlier. Separately, the company said it received equity investments totaling $100 million from PAR Investment Partners and Blackstone-controlled ... Full Story »