diane eastabrook, "n.b.r.," chicago. >> tom: daniel rohr is a metals and mining analyst from morningstarand joins us from chicago. dan, how unique of a deal is this in the u.s. to have mining and energy drilling all in the same company? >> it is very unusual, forthe p. decades, ago, however, we had seen a lot of the oil majors, folks like amco, with exposure to mining as well. this is an animal we haven't seen in quite sometime in the u.s. >> tom: what drove the deal for freport, why did it want to go outside its expertise mining, that was two generations of leaders ago. why now? >> yeah. i'm still struggling with the underlying strategic rationale for this deal. judging by the stock market, i can't see a clear rationale as far as why they did this. what management has said is they see a compelling story for oil and gas demand over the next several decades, and the purchase of plains and m.n.r., was a good way to bet on that outlook. >> tom: i suppose one point that is worth exploring here is little bit, mac moran and mines around the world, they're mostly based here in the u.s. is that

diane eastabrook tells us about one chicago business that's making money by refusing to get boxed in by tradition. >> reporter: this is the unglamorous side of chicago's ideal box company. it's where workers and machines convert paper into corrugated boxes. this is the glamorous side. it's where graphic artists design cardboard store displays by computer. then, industrial designers fashion them into something like this. >> it's a bit of a corn stalk, and so the wood crates sort of show that farmer's market look. >> reporter: ideal president scott eisen says thinking outside the box is keeping his family's 92-year-old corrugated box factory relevant in the 21st century. >> displays are not only a better margin, but it's the reason customers will come to us, because we have to conceptualize and do the renderings and come up with the innovations of "how do i sell my product at retail?" that's where we're really good. >> reporter: eisen and his brother yale say they turned ideal into a sort of boutique manufacturer a decade ago because the box business had become so cutthroat. >> it wasn

it's been a difficult year for the restaurant chain, but as diane eastabrook reports, 2013 is looking better. >> reporter: mcdonald's credits its limited offer cheddar bacon onion burger, beverages, and dollar menu for luring more customers back to stores last month. same-store sales were up 2.4% in november, after falling just shy of 2% in october. that was the first sales decline in a decade. while november was an improvement, the sales gain was a fraction of what mcdonald's did during the same month a year ago. mcdonald's has been facing stiffer competition lately from other fast food chains, and with unemployment still high, some cash-strapped consumers have cut back on fast food. david henkes from the restaurant consulting firm technomic says mcdonald's is just in a funk. he thinks the chain can ring up better sales in the coming months with more specialty items and better marketing. >> so many people are aware of mcdonald's, it's not as though they need the awareness. but sometimes, you need something that drives them in. so, i don't necessarily think you need a portfolio of new

diane eastabrook has more. >> reporter: the holidays mean big business for tasty catering. >> we're at metawa at 8:30. we're at schaumburg at 9:00. >> reporter: during this time of year, the catering company works around the clock, preparing food for office christmas parties in the chicago area. co-owner thomas walter brings in over 100 part-time employees to help out his 70 full timers during busy times like this. >> without the part-time employees, we have no product. they're a vital ingredient. >> reporter: under the affordable care act, businesses with 51 or more full-time employees must provide health insurance or pay a $2,000 penalty per employee. an employee who works 30 or more hours a week is considered full time. walter does offers health insurance to his full-time staff, but not to the part- timers, many of whom often work over 30 hours a week. >> of course, we will do the right thing, both legally, ethically, and morally, but it could be the ruination of our business because we don't have a healthy profit margin. our profit margin vacillates between 3% and 5%. >> it's reall

diane eastabrook, "n.b.r.," chicago. >> susie: meanwhile, ford is going all out to rev up its upscale lincoln brand. the company is re-naming the division, "the lincoln motor company". it's not a separate company, but a separate brand from ford's mainstream models. at an event in new york city's lincoln center, ford introduced the new lincoln mkz sedan, one of four luxury, and fuel efficient models coming out over the next four years. >> no one offers a car that's more fuel he fishant than the this hybrid no one offers a vehicle with the kind of craftsmanship and beautifully skimp find interior that we val. and when you drive it, it's going to be as fun to drive as a bmw but as quiet and comfortable at a lexus. >> susie: this is ford's latest campaign to stage a comeback for lincoln. when i talked to the c.e.o. alan mall ally i asked him if this is his last push to save the brand. >> we haven't focused on lincoln over the last few years because we had these other luxury brands. i think this is almost a beginning because now everybody knows that what ford did with ford, and now they al

diane eastabrook has details on freeport's plans to build a larger, more diversified company. >> reporter freeport mcmoran tried to assure investors today that getting into the energy business doesn't mean the company is turning its back on mining. under the deal, freeport will pay $6.9 billion for plains exploration and production and $2.1 billion for mcmoran exploration, a sister company it was separated from a couple of decades ago. the deal would also leave freeport with $20 billion of debt. freeport executives say getting into oil and natural gas would elp diversify the company and keep more of its assets in north america, where there's a huge shale gas boom. they estimate by next year freeport will derive a little more than a quarter of its profits from energy and the rest from mining, versus 100% from mining today. the company says it thinks demand for commodities, especially energy, will continue to grow. that could help offset the increased difficulty mining companies are having trying to find new projects in regions outside the u.s. and with interest rates currently at historic