Articles About General

Economic indicators show that the recession is over.  This is the opinion of Rick Mattoon, a senior economist and advisor in the economic research department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and a lecturer at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.  Rick’s primary research focuses on issues facing the Midwest regional economy. […]

The long-time bible of the shrinking newspaper industry, Editor & Publisher, has announced that it will cease publication both in print and online at the end of 2009. Announcement of the end of the venerable publication, whose roots extend back to 1884, was met by surprise and outpourings of strong support.  Ironically for a publication […]

Text “HAITI” to 90999  on your cell phone and $10 will be donated to the American Red Cross for earthquake relief in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation.  That $10 donation will appear on your next cell phone bill – a quick and painless way to speed relief to a country reeling in the face of […]

Politics may make strange bedfellows, but it also reveals some interesting family trees. President Barack Obama not only has a supporter in the form of Berkshire Hathaway chairman and investment expert Warren Buffett – the two are also distant cousins. Genealogists at ancestry.com found a family connection dating back to a 17th-century Frenchman named Mareen […]

Tiger Woods’ extramarital escapades are costing shareholders in the companies he sponsors, according to a study by an economics professor at the University of California at Davis.  Victor Stango found that the market value lost to firms that had Woods as a sponsor is already $12 billion.  Woods is believed to earn approximately $100 million […]

I was recently asked to comment on CB Richard Ellis’ recent “EIG State Incentives Ranking Report”  as an Certified Economic Developer who has been practicing in Illinois for nearly 30 years. Click on the link and take a look at the map and state rankings list that’s generated.  Illinois, Indiana and Iowa are marked “competitive.” […]

Gold fever seems to be on the decline as the precious metal fell $90 an ounce in just two days after the commodity reached a high of $1,226 an ounce in early December.  The lion’s share of the blame for the decline was placed on newbie investors, who got skittish in their belief that gold […]

Lou Dobbs’ resignation from CNN after 27 years  has led to speculation about his future plans — whether in politics or a possible move to Fox News.  Dobbs, known for his controversial opinions on immigration, went so far as to question the validity of Barack Obama’s Hawaiian birth certificate and suggested that the president was […]

With the national unemployment rate at 10.2 percent, President Barack Obama is focusing on job creation – the American public’s number one concern.  The administration’s “White House to Main Street” summit and tour is gathering advice from a variety of stakeholders, including business executives, small-business owners, economists, union officials and Ed Pawlowski, the mayor of […]

Jason Sadler, a 26-year-old former marketing professional from Florida has resolved his unemployment woes  by founding his own company – I Wear Your Shirt.  The entrepreneurial concept is simple.  Sadler wears a T-shirt provided by any company for a day and uses social media tools to promote the firm.  And it’s earning Sadler nearly $85,000 […]