U.S. housing starts surge in December
By Mindy Tan The pace of homebuilding rebounded in December and surpassed analyst estimates, driven by multi-family units. Privately-owned housing starts rose 11.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.23 million compared with the revised November annual rate of 1.10 million, stated the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in a release […]
Manufacturing and wages growing in the Midwest, Fed says
by Jingnan Huo The Midwest saw robust manufacturing growth and a tight labor market with increasing wage pressures at the end of 2016, in line with national trends, according to a Federal Reserve report issued Wednesday. The report, known as the beige book, is a collection of anecdotal data from all 12 Federal Reserve district […]
Wintrust Financial reports 54 percent boost in quarterly net income
By Katherine Hyunjung Lee Wintrust Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:WTFC), an Illinois-based bank holding company providing community banking and financial services, late Wednesday reported its net income increased by 53.8 percent to $54.6 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 from $35.5 million a year before. Diluted earnings per share beat Bloomberg’s consensus estimate of 91.6 […]
Chicago retailers and shoppers are ready for 7-cent tax on bags
By Beixi (Bessie) Xu Chicago retailers and shoppers are well prepared for the new tax of 7 cents on plastic and paper bags that will take effect on Feb.1. “All our employees are fully trained on what to do with the plastic bags and how to handle the restriction that is coming up,” said Shenika […]
PrivateBancorp strong profit supports higher acquisition price
By Yifang (Evonne) Liu PrivateBancorp Inc. stock closed at $54.15 after the company reported strong earnings, reinforcing shareholder expectations that the prospective acquisition by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce will occur at a higher price than the $47 agreed on seven months ago. “The Big thing is the CIBC acquisition is still pending. Shareholders vote […]
Netflix adds 7 million new subscribers
By Wenjing Yang Shares of Netflix surged Thursday after the company said it added a record 7 million new subscribers in the fourth quarter, bringing the company’s total number of subscribers to 92 million, with nearly half of them outside the U.S. The video-streaming giant far surpassed Wall Street expectations by signing up 5.1 million […]
Olson father-son duo finds success at Niles North
By Brent Schwartz “Let’s go!” shouted Niles North head coach Glenn Olson, urging one of his scrimmage teams to push the floor during an intense practice. He is often animated, but focused when running practice, keeping his players on their toes. After practice, Glenn addressed his team with a sense confidence. “A lot of you […]
U.S. Shale Oil Production Rises to Meet Global Demand
By Urvashi Verma After nearly two and a half years of barren fields, U.S. shale producers are restoring operations as oil prices have rebounded from increased demand from Asia and OPEC production cuts. The Brent and WTI crude oil prices have increased 13.0 and 9.4 percent respectively reaching above the $50 per barrel mark since […]
Can fitness tracking devices lower your health care costs?
By Rachel Newman Greg Madden isn’t the man he used to be. In 2016, the 23-year-old Homewood, Ill., resident embarked on a fitness journey that would turn him into the kind of “health nut” he once mocked. Since June, he’s lost 75 pounds, down from a high of 280. Madden credits his success to a […]
Depth Issues lead to Von Steuben’s slide
By Karl Bullock It’s starting to become heartbreaking. The Von Steuben boys’ basketball team lost to Farragut Academy 63-57 on Saturday night. Early turnovers and poor shot selection put the Panthers down early before their aggressive defense allowed them to claw their way back into the game. “We’re not the type of team that can […]
