VIDEO: Chicago online florist finds efficiencies, and customers
By Jin Wu According to IBIS World, by January 2015, there are more than 35,000 offline florists and more than 3,000 online flower shops in U.S. In spite of this strong competition, with only a few thousand dollars invested to start the business, Chicago-based Flowers for Dreams LLC was profitable even in its first year. […]
Chicago start-ups embrace digital health
By Jin Wu 2014 proved to be a stellar year for digital health. According to data from Startup Health, a New York based digital health accelerator, $6.5 billion was invested into the digital health sector in 2014, up 124 percent from 2013. The money is coming not only from venture capital, but also from the private […]
Illinois unemployment hits 6-year low in January
By Jin Wu Regional and state unemployment rates were little changed in January, according to a release Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Illinois reports an unemployment rate of 6.1 percent, the lowest since 2009. [field name=”Unemployment”] Illinois unemployment rate has been dropping for six consecutive years, reaching 6.1 percent in January. (Bureau of […]
U.S. Producer Price Index Dropped January due to Cheap Oil Prices
by Jin Wu U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures changes in prices received by domestic producers, posted a decline in January mainly due to plunging energy costs and a strengthening of the U.S. dollar, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Wednesday. The Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand decreased a seasonally […]
Allscripts still lags amid healthcare technology rise
By Jin Wu Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: MDRX), the Chicago-based healthcare information technology provider, is getting divided ratings from analysts. There are currently 28 analysts that Bloomberg tracks covering Allscripts. Of those 28, 11 have a buy rating, 16 have a hold rating, and one has a sell rating. Since the fourth quarter of […]
MATTER officially opens, boosting healthcare innovation
By Jin Wu CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the number of health care entrepreneurs that had begin working in MATTER’s incubator. The correct number is now included below. Governor Bruce Rauner, Senator Dick Durbin and Mayor Rahm Emanuel marked the official opening of MATTER, Chicago’s new entrepreneurship and innovation incubator in […]
Stericycle sustains revenue growth; but stock falls
by Jin Wu Stericycle Inc. (NASDAQ: SRCL), the Illinois-based world’s largest provider of regulated medical waste management, reported higher profits in both the fourth quarter and the year 2014 due to its successful acquisition strategy. For the quarter ended December 31, Stericycle earned $82.5 million, or 96 cents per diluted share, compared with $78.2 million, […]
AbbVie expenses yield loss, stock falls
by Jin Wu AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV), the Illinois-based biopharmaceutical company separated from Abbott Laboratories in 2013, reported lower profits in both the fourth quarter and the full year due to foreign currency volatility and expenses of the terminated acquisition of Shire Plc., a specialty biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Ireland. The stock dropped 4.3 percent. […]
Zimmer Q4 earnings beat estimates
by Jin Wu Zimmer Holdings Inc. (NYSE and SIX: ZMH), the Indiana-based joint replacement manufacturer, reported lower profits in both the fourth quarter and the full year due to foreign currency volatility and expenses of its pending merger with Biomet Inc., another medical devices manufacturer. For the quarter ended December 31, Zimmer earned $156.6 million, […]
Experts cite Ebola’s indirect cost, urge public-private partnerships
By Jin Wu Chicago health care and economic experts said the indirect cost of Ebola is enormous and partnerships between public and private sectors could be a solution for “the market failures” in Ebola prevention and treatment. Dozens of people attended a public conversation called “The Cost of Health Crisis” Wednesday night at Chicago’s Harold […]
