On point in McCook
David Roeder: Eleven years ago, CenterPoint Properties placed its faith in the outmoded industrial plants of southwest suburban McCook. The decision has been paying off ever since. CenterPoint has broken ground for a 270,000-square-foot manufacturing and shipping center in what it calls the McCook Business Center, at First Avenue and I-55.
David Roeder: Eleven years ago, CenterPoint Properties placed its faith in the outmoded industrial plants of southwest suburban McCook. The decision has been paying off ever since. CenterPoint has broken ground for a 270,000-square-foot manufacturing and shipping center in what it calls the McCook Business Center, at First Avenue and I-55.
Five left in bid for the Cubs
David Roeder: The five finalists in the billion-dollar derby for the Chicago Cubs include two locally based groups and three from out of town, all with deep pockets and with different ideas for minimizing the deal’s tax impact on team owner Tribune Co. Sources said the local bids come from Thomas Ricketts, president of corporate bond dealer Incapital LLC, whose father founded the TD Ameritrade brokerage, and a group led by real estate investor Hersch Klaff.
David Roeder: The five finalists in the billion-dollar derby for the Chicago Cubs include two locally based groups and three from out of town, all with deep pockets and with different ideas for minimizing the deal’s tax impact on team owner Tribune Co. Sources said the local bids come from Thomas Ricketts, president of corporate bond dealer Incapital LLC, whose father founded the TD Ameritrade brokerage, and a group led by real estate investor Hersch Klaff.
HSBC shifting workers to Itasca office
Consumer loan provider HSBC Holdings PLC said Monday it will lease offices in Itasca for 2,000 employees, part of a plan to consolidate Chicago-area operations from nine locations down to two.
Grocery bills going up -- again
David Roeder: It started in the cereal aisle, and it's spreading. Food manufacturers, under pressure for months from higher costs for everything from product ingredients to the packaging, are confessing to new plans for price increases. Most already have gone through at least one round of price hikes this year.
David Roeder: It started in the cereal aisle, and it's spreading. Food manufacturers, under pressure for months from higher costs for everything from product ingredients to the packaging, are confessing to new plans for price increases. Most already have gone through at least one round of price hikes this year.
'Confidence' low? Time to buy
David Roeder: This too shall pass. In life, as well as the financial markets, that's useful advice. It's the nag of wariness in good times and comfort in the bad times. It's important to keep it in mind because Wall Street, despite advances last week, still looks pallid, ready to jump at every noise in the night. The credit crisis and the inflationary squeeze on consumers are real concerns, but last week's markets offered positive news.
David Roeder: This too shall pass. In life, as well as the financial markets, that's useful advice. It's the nag of wariness in good times and comfort in the bad times. It's important to keep it in mind because Wall Street, despite advances last week, still looks pallid, ready to jump at every noise in the night. The credit crisis and the inflationary squeeze on consumers are real concerns, but last week's markets offered positive news.
Ka-Pow! goes Batman site, real work begins
David Roeder: Last August, Hollywood blew up part of the old Brach's candy plant at 401 N. Cicero to film scenes for the new Batman movie. Now, with a city subsidy deal in place, the 30-acre site cocan get down to its real business of generating jobs on the West Side.
David Roeder: Last August, Hollywood blew up part of the old Brach's candy plant at 401 N. Cicero to film scenes for the new Batman movie. Now, with a city subsidy deal in place, the 30-acre site cocan get down to its real business of generating jobs on the West Side.
Cheers! It's Miller (and Coors) time, Chicago
David Roeder: Don't say Chicago's economy is "ale-ing." A beer company headquarters is on tap. MillerCoors LLC has picked Chicago as the home of its new combined operation. The joint venture handles U.S. business for SABMiller PLC and Molson Coors Brewing Co. and was formed June 30.
David Roeder: Don't say Chicago's economy is "ale-ing." A beer company headquarters is on tap. MillerCoors LLC has picked Chicago as the home of its new combined operation. The joint venture handles U.S. business for SABMiller PLC and Molson Coors Brewing Co. and was formed June 30.
MillerCoors to make Chicago its new home
David Roeder: Chicago will become the headquarters of a giant in the beer business. MillerCoors LLC has picked Chicago as the home of its new combined operation, sources said Tuesday. The joint venture handles U.S. business for SABMiller PLC and Molson Coors Brewing Co. and was formed June 30. The company plans a main office of about 400 employees. It has yet to pick its exact Chicago location.
David Roeder: Chicago will become the headquarters of a giant in the beer business. MillerCoors LLC has picked Chicago as the home of its new combined operation, sources said Tuesday. The joint venture handles U.S. business for SABMiller PLC and Molson Coors Brewing Co. and was formed June 30. The company plans a main office of about 400 employees. It has yet to pick its exact Chicago location.
Obama says he'll fix No Child Left Behind
David Roeder: Sen. Barack Obama collected the endorsement of the American Federation of Teachers Sunday and promised to fix "the broken promises" of the No Child Left Behind law -- which he said has done little besides label schools and students as failures.
David Roeder: Sen. Barack Obama collected the endorsement of the American Federation of Teachers Sunday and promised to fix "the broken promises" of the No Child Left Behind law -- which he said has done little besides label schools and students as failures.
It's back to '93 for shareholders
David Roeder: Imagine how you'd feel if you owned a house that suddenly was worth what it sold for in 1993. You might feel like shareholders of Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE), the twin princes of the mortgage market. FNM shares fell more than 20 percent Friday, and both stocks are down to 1993 levels on concerns they will require a federal bailout.
David Roeder: Imagine how you'd feel if you owned a house that suddenly was worth what it sold for in 1993. You might feel like shareholders of Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE), the twin princes of the mortgage market. FNM shares fell more than 20 percent Friday, and both stocks are down to 1993 levels on concerns they will require a federal bailout.
The Dow tumbles to end a volatile week
Wall Street's angst over the ongoing fallout from the credit crisis made for a turbulent end to a volatile week Friday -- stocks tumbled, soared and then turned south again as investors tried to assess the dangers faced by the country's biggest mortgage financiers, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
5 retailers sign leases at Block 37
The developer of downtown's Block 37 project announced leases with five retailers Thursday.
Cargill's cushy work
David Roeder: Soybeans you can sit on are the focus of a $22 million manufacturing plant Cargill Inc. is building on Chicago's Southeast Side. The factory, at 12201 S. Torrence, is designed to put the agricultural products maker in the forefront of a new business that makes soy-based ingredients for flexible foam cushions.
David Roeder: Soybeans you can sit on are the focus of a $22 million manufacturing plant Cargill Inc. is building on Chicago's Southeast Side. The factory, at 12201 S. Torrence, is designed to put the agricultural products maker in the forefront of a new business that makes soy-based ingredients for flexible foam cushions.
Tribune to cut 80 newsroom jobs
Sam Zell took his first bite out of the Chicago Tribune newsroom Tuesday, disclosing plans to lay off about 15 percent of its staff. And the bite may be followed by more. Tribune employees said they have heard the reductions in the paper’s 570-person editorial department could total from 150 to 200.
Sam Zell took his first bite out of the Chicago Tribune newsroom Tuesday, disclosing plans to lay off about 15 percent of its staff. And the bite may be followed by more. Tribune employees said they have heard the reductions in the paper’s 570-person editorial department could total from 150 to 200.
Banker Bobins back
David Roeder: PrivateBancorp Inc., remaking itself in the image of the former LaSalle Bank, topped off the process Monday by making Norman Bobins chairman of its Chicago operations. Bobins is the former chairman of LaSalle whose connections helped build it into Chicago's leading business bank.
David Roeder: PrivateBancorp Inc., remaking itself in the image of the former LaSalle Bank, topped off the process Monday by making Norman Bobins chairman of its Chicago operations. Bobins is the former chairman of LaSalle whose connections helped build it into Chicago's leading business bank.
It's a market fit for a monkey
David Roeder: It's hard to figure. Wall Street is wailing. Oil is the new gold. You couldn't get a cheap airfare if you provided your own snacks and sickness bag. Hedge fund managers are on the lam or barring the gates against angry rich mobs wanting their money back. Yet the Chicago Sun-Times stock-picking monkey, Mr. Adam Monk, is one happy animal.
David Roeder: It's hard to figure. Wall Street is wailing. Oil is the new gold. You couldn't get a cheap airfare if you provided your own snacks and sickness bag. Hedge fund managers are on the lam or barring the gates against angry rich mobs wanting their money back. Yet the Chicago Sun-Times stock-picking monkey, Mr. Adam Monk, is one happy animal.
Paul Stuart finds perfect fit on Oak St.
Paul Stuart, the high fashion menswear store that gave up its home in the John Hancock Center, is returning to the neighborhood in space that should make its rental dollars go further.
Trib staff told to pinch pennies
For some employees at the Chicago Tribune, a memo Monday was the last straw. Make that the last Post-it note, pen and notebook.
Heavy equipment in high gear
Let Wall Street obsess about whether the market's declines Thursday and Friday technically put the indexes into bear territory. I know of a sector where the fundamental news is positive, yet most of the stocks in it are trading well below their highs for this year.
Let Wall Street obsess about whether the market's declines Thursday and Friday technically put the indexes into bear territory. I know of a sector where the fundamental news is positive, yet most of the stocks in it are trading well below their highs for this year.
State files lawsuit against Countrywide
David Roeder: Melissa White of Schaumburg says she fits none of the stereotypes of people who took out subprime loans. "I read the documents. I am educated. I actually brought a friend with me to the closing. I was told I didn't need a lawyer," said the 44-year-old special education teacher.
David Roeder: Melissa White of Schaumburg says she fits none of the stereotypes of people who took out subprime loans. "I read the documents. I am educated. I actually brought a friend with me to the closing. I was told I didn't need a lawyer," said the 44-year-old special education teacher.
