 | | Monday, Oct. 31, 2011 • chicagotribune.com business newsletter |  |
CLOSING BELL
DJIA 11,955.01 -276.10 | NSDQ 2,684.41 -52.74 | S&P 1,253.30 -31.79
Unhappy Halloween. Stocks ended the month on a downbeat note as enthusiasm over the agreement to tackle the euro zone debt crisis waned and a spike in the U.S. dollar hurt commodity-related shares: MORE>>
TOP BUSINESS NEWS
 MF Global, the first American financial casualty of the European debt crisis, files for bankruptcy: MORE>>
• CME Group bars some MF Global staff from its trading floors: MORE>>
• Photos: The largest U.S. bankruptcies since 1980: MORE>>
Motorola Mobility to cut 800 jobs, including 185 in Illinois: MORE>>
Barnes & Noble expected to unveil tablet next week: MORE>>
NBC to enhance local news at 10 television stations, including in Chicago: MORE>>
ComEd reportedly will seek a lower rate hike: MORE>>
President Barack Obama signs order to relieve drug shortages: MORE>>
Bernie Madoff's son says he didn't suspect his father of running a Ponzi scheme: MORE>>
Macy's and Target plan earlier Black Friday openings: MORE>>
Rivals Netflix and Amazon unveil separate deals with Walt Disney to license movies and TV shows: MORE>>
LATEST BUSINESS NEWS >> | SEND US A NEWS TIP >>
TALKING BUSINESS
"Being in the airline business is so much cooler than being a partner in a law firm," said United Continental CEO Jeff Smisek, who discussed his airline's challenges in a Tribune interview. Smisek's big hurdle is integrating two behemoths with complementary businesses but radically different corporate cultures: MORE>>
IN OTHER NEWS
 Latest round of GOP presidential candidate madness has Herman Cain saying he was "falsely accused" of sexual harassment in '90s: MORE>>
• Cain's "smoking man" ad is still a hot viral video on the Web: MORE>>
Northern Illinois University campus building evacuated after bomb threat: MORE>>
Illinois high schools aren't looking too impressive based on a new federal formula for education performance: MORE>>
• See if your school made the Chicago-area's top 50: MORE>>
BizWrap, who waited almost an hour for a train this weekend, plans to tweet some rude things at the CTA's new Twitter account: MORE>>
East Coast residents still stunned by winter storm in October: MORE>>
World's population reaches 7 billion: MORE>>
Fascinating and promising study looks at mosquitoes that fight dengue fever by passing on DNA that kills their own children: MORE>>
LATEST CHICAGO AND NATIONAL NEWS >>
IN THE BLOGOSPHERE
Congress is fully engaged this week, with the House and Senate in session and a menu of legislative offerings as Democrats and Republicans struggle to dominate the jobs front -- perhaps the top issue among voters. More from the LATimes blog PoliticsNow: MORE>>
SPORTS FIX
Why the Bears are unlikely to give Matt Forte a multiyear deal: MORE>>
Shaquille O'Neal writes in autobiography that Kobe Bryant’s sexual assault charges in 2003 destroyed the Lakers (Deadspin): MORE>>
LATEST SPORTS NEWS >>
OFF THE CLOCK
 After a whole 72 days of marriage, Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries are getting a divorce: MORE>>
• In this difficult time, the Kardashian family asks that you talk about this endlessly: MORE>>
Children's film "Puss in Boots" tops box office: MORE>>
• But investors aren't that impressed and send Dreamworks' shares down: MORE>>
Conan O'Brien to officiate gay wedding on his show: MORE>>
Hilary Swank fires entire staff after Chechen PR disaster: MORE>>
HEADED OUT?
Traffic | See current information on area highways, buses, trains and planes on our commuting page: MORE>>
 Weather | Mostly clear, with lows in the upper 30s overnight. See our weather page with radar and Tom Skilling's seven-day forecast: MORE>>
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