Sears, Roebuck and Co.

Last year was hardly a great 12 months for corporate profits or stock market returns. But it wasn't all that bad for many chief executives. A number of CEOs in Illinois and northwest Indiana saw their pay spiral higher, even as their companies' stock...

Since opening a spa with heated marble floors and buttery leather furniture last month, the 61-room Herrington Inn in Geneva has sold about 1,000 gift certificates to the inn's pampering provider. Of those, Sherie McGowan bought five as Christmas gifts...

When it comes to poker, Bill McNamara isn't one to fold 'em. The vice chairman of May Department Stores Co. said last week that his St. Louis-based company has been cleaning up with poker-related products. "The dynamic poker trend is an important new...

A battle is gearing up in California to determine if companies will be forced to pay for workers' health insurance. A law requiring many employers to pay at least 80 percent of workers' premiums will go into effect unless voters strike it down in...

Alan Lacy laid out a conservative game plan Wednesday for Sears, Roebuck and Co. focused more on cutting costs than growing revenue. Sears expects 2002 revenue to be flat, a result of both the slow economy and Sears' selective exit of merchandise lines,...

After the most disappointing holiday retail season in a decade, few experts expect a quick rebound for retailers in 2001. News has been grim so far, with store closings, layoffs and bankruptcies coming on the heels of a 2000 holiday season hurt by a...

Bill Maher, the irreverent host of late-night talk show "Politically Incorrect," apologized on Wednesday for saying some U.S. military actions were "cowardly," a remark many said was not only politically incorrect but offensive. His televised comments...

In a deal to create a department store giant that will control the anchor positions at malls across the country, Federated Department Stores Inc. on Monday officially announced an acquisition of May Department Stores Co. The $11 billion deal for May,...

The nation's major retailers today reported generally upbeat sales results for October, despite rising fuel prices and falling consumer confidence, with high-end department stores and sellers of luxury goods reporting the biggest increases. Signs that...

People searching for a way to help the victims of the devastation in New York and Washington poured into Chicago area hospitals and blood banks on Tuesday, stretching the region's blood collection system to its limits. Volunteers lined the corridors of...

The terrorist attacks in New York and Washington brought a sudden end to the workday for thousands of people in Chicago. Quaker Oats Co. closed its headquarters along the Chicago River at 10 a.m., sending 1,100 home. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of...

At City Hall in Chicago on Wednesday, people waited as long as three hours to donate blood. Hundreds of doctors and nurses, meanwhile, offered their services in the event they are needed in New York or Washington to care for the injured. Across...