May 23, 2013 8:00 AM

Things are going to get really busy at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport this weekend. The city's Department of Aviation says that the 269,000 passengers expected at O'Hare on Friday will make it the busiest day of the Memorial Day weekend.

May 23, 2013 5:30 AM

Comcast, which has its Midwest headquarters in Schaumburg, has launched Xfinity Wi-Fi in the Chicago and suburban area. Comcast customers can access about 100,000 hot spots nationwide, including more than 1,000 in Chicago and the suburbs for free, said company spokesman Jack Segel. "So many people use our service on mobile devices and download and stream content on the go. It only made sense to provide it now," he said.

May 22, 2013 11:56 AM

Northbrook-based Allstate Corp., the largest publicly traded U.S. home and auto insurer, will retire about $3 billion in debt as Chief Executive Officer Thomas Wilson takes advantage of near record-low interest rates. The transactions will be funded by a combination of cash, issuance of preferred stock and debt.

May 22, 2013 2:04 PM

Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress Wednesday that the U.S. job market remains weak and that it is too soon for the Federal Reserve to end its extraordinary stimulus programs. Reducing the Fed's efforts to keep borrowing rates low would "carry a substantial risk of slowing or ending the economic recovery," Bernanke said.