Business Beat for Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2014

SHARE Business Beat for Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2014

Whole Foods to roll out rankings for produce

Chain plans to start rolling out a system that ranks fruits and vegetables as “good,” ”better” or “best” based on the supplier’s farming practices.

Taco Bell tests Sriracha-flavored items

Taco Bell is testing a new menu that looks to tap into the cult following for the red Thai hot sauce known as Sriracha.

Wild day on Wall Street ends with Dow down 173

Stocks ended a wild day mostly lower as indexes recovered much of an early plunge. The Dow Jones industrial average plummeted as much as 460 points earlier in the session.

ALSO: Airline stocks tumble on fresh Ebola fears

ALSO: Stock swoon brings S&P 500 closer to ‘correction’

ALSO: Some Americans actually stand to benefit from the forces behind the frenzied trading

Shire clears way for earlier AbbVie meeting

Drugmaker Shire Plc waived a three-day notice requirement “to allow the period of uncertainty … to be reduced.” North Chicago-based AbbVie is having second thoughts about their pending $55 billion merger.

HBO Go-ing away from cable, will stand on its own

Premium cable channel HBO plans to offer a stand-alone version of its popular video-streaming service in 2015.

United to put inflight Wi-Fi on regional jets

United Airlines has contracted with Itasca-based Gogo Inc. to add inflight Wi-Fi services on more than 200 regional jets.

Boire named acting president, CEO of Sears Canada

Sears executive Ron Boire will run the company’s Canadian unit.

Toyota recalls 423K Lexuses in US for fuel leak risk

The recall is among three global recalls that Toyota announced Wednesday totaling about 1.7 million vehicles.

Google tries to upstage Apple with latest devices

Google has unveiled its latest tablet in an apparent effort to upstage Apple’s anticipated update of its trend-setting iPad.

Wal-Mart scales back US store growth

The retail giant aims to revive business at Wal-Mart discount stores, which haven’t increased revenue in six quarters.

Mike’s Hard is the first malt liquor to go (almost) gluten-free

The Chicago-based company can use “crafted to remove gluten” on its labels.

VW nudges GM out of 2nd place in global sales race

VW sold 7.4 million cars and trucks during the first three quarters of 2014, slightly more than General Motors’ 7.37 million.

IndiGo agrees to record 250 Airbus jet order

The Indian budget airline has agreed to buy 250 A320 planes from Airbus, a purchase that could be worth nearly $26 billion, Reuters reports. [Reuters]

US producer prices fell 0.1 percent in September

Falling gasoline and food costs have lowered the prices that U.S. companies received for their goods and services.

US retail sales fell in September on autos and gas

The drop in September is a sign recent job gains have yet to significantly boost consumer spending.

Qualcomm buying CSR in $2.5 billion deal

The deal is part of Qualcomm’s aggressive push into technology that connects devices over the Internet.

Hewlett-Packard resumes buybacks, affirms guidance

PC maker Hewlett-Packard plans to split into two publicly traded units, its PC and printing businesses and its services business.

The Latest
The man was shot in the left eye area in the 5700 block of South Christiana Avenue on the city’s Southwest Side.
Most women who seek abortions are women of color, especially Black women. Restricting access to mifepristone, as a case now before the Supreme Court seeks to do, would worsen racial health disparities.
The Bears have spent months studying the draft. They’ll spend the next one plotting what could happen.
Woman is getting anxious about how often she has to host her husband’s hunting buddy and his wife, who don’t contribute at all to mealtimes.
He launched a campaign against a proposed neo-Nazis march at a time the suburb was home to many Holocaust survivors. His rabbi at Skokie Central Congregation urged Jews to ignore the Nazis. “I jumped up and said, ‘No, Rabbi. We will not stay home and close the windows.’ ”