[ BIZ BRIEFS ]

Nicor shareholders OK plan

A majority of Nicor Energy shareholders approved an advisoryproposal presented by one stockholder that would require the companyto submit any poison-pill plan to a vote by all investors, and notjust the board of directors. Nicor chairman and chief executiveThomas Fisher said 59.4 percent of shareholders voted for the plan atthe company's annual meeting Thursday; the company opposed theproposal. The passage of the advisory proposal means that Nicor'sdirectors will consider the plan, but don't have to act on it.

CBOT exceeds 4 mil. contracts

The Chicago Board of Trade reported that total exchange tradingvolume climbed above 4 million contracts Wednesday for the first timeever. Volume reached 4,012,691 contracts, besting the prior record of3,789,424 contracts, set on March 5. Open interest at the exchangealso hit a new high of 11,578,124 contracts.

Illinois jobless rate falls

The jobless rate in Illinois fell to 6 percent in March from 6.6percent in the year-ago period and from 6.2 percent in February. TheMarch decline put the rate at its lowest level in 28 months. Thenumber of people counted as unemployed stood at 383,300, down 15,000or 3.8 percent. That was the lowest level since November 2001.

Abbott unit sues Hershey

Abbott Laboratories' Zone-Perfect Nutrition unit filed a trademarklawsuit against Hershey Foods and diet book author Barry Sears overtheir plans to market a nutrition bar. Hershey announced the bars,based on Sears' "Zone Diet," in February, saying it planned to launchthem in the third quarter. Abbott alleges the logo of Hershey's"SmartZone" bar looked just like the one used by ZonePerfect. Hersheyand Sears could not be reached for comment. The suit was filed inU.S. District Court in Boston.

Boeing gets Taiwan orders

Taiwan's largest carrier, China Airlines, said it is ordering two747-400 freight planes from Chicago-based Boeing for delivery in 2006to keep up with strong demand in the cargo market. The announcementcame just two days after Taiwan's second-largest carrier, EVAAirways, said it will buy eight long-haul Boeing 777 passenger jets.

UAL fuel costs soar

United Airlines parent UAL Corp., which has been in bankruptcyprotection since December 2002, said in a court filing that its fuelcosts this year will be $450 million higher than forecast last year.UAL said the higher cost was partly the result of a limited abilitywhile in bankruptcy to reach agreements that would let it avoidrising fuel prices.