Taxes and housing prices drive some Chicagoans out

By Yingcong (June) Fu The third largest city in the U.S., Chicago has been seeing a slow population growth due to high tax rates and living expenses. According to the census data by the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of Chicago grew 0.9 percent to 2.7 million in the five years from 2010 to 2015, […]

Fed raises interest rates as expected

By Yingcong (June) Fu The Federal Reserve’s policy makers raised the federal funds rates rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday as expected, following their two-day meeting. The federal funds rate–the rate that banks charge each other for overnight loans–was increased to a range of 0.75 percent to 1 percent. It was the third quarter-point […]

Evanston’s European style bakery attracts customers for decades

By Yingcong (June) Fu Noah Plotkim, a resident of Evanston, has been coming to Bennison’s Bakery twice a month for ten years to buy his favorite donuts. “I think it’s the best bakery in Evanston for sweets,” Plotkim said. Bennison’s Bakery, located at 1000 Davis St. in Evanston, has been there since 1938. With an […]

Chicago startup hub empowers women in technology on International Women’s Day

Yingcong (June) Fu Sandi Mays, chief information officer at Zayo Group, dresses up for work, but then finds herself surrounded by men in jeans and t-shirts. She is often interrupted by men when she is the lone woman at meetings at the Boulder, Colorado-based communications technology company, and she sometimes gets left out of social […]

Chicago Business Barometer jumps to highest level in 2 years

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By Yingcong (June) Fu The Chicago Business Barometer jumped 7.1 points to 57.4 in February, the highest since January 2015, according to a report released by the Institute for Supply Management in Chicago on Tuesday. This reading beat the average estimate of 53.49 by 35 economists polled by Bloomberg. According to ISM, a reading above […]

Tokyo, eyeing 2020, reinforces Japanese character

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By Yingcong (June) Fu Tokyo is pointing toward its second Olympics, in 2020, after more than half a century. Different from the situation in 1964, when Japan’s economy was emerging after World War II, Tokyo is trying to bring a new global image this time after decades of economic stagnation in Japan. Consistent with the […]

Zebra returns to profitability, stock jumps

By Yingcong (June) Fu Shares of Zebra Technologies Corp. surged 4.8 percent on Thursday as the company reported a profit for the fourth quarter after four consecutive quarterly losses. The Lincolnshire, Ill.-based printer and mobile computer provider swung to net income of $17 million, or 34 cents per diluted share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. […]

Zebra expects stronger performance in 2017

Zebra Chicago Office

By Yingcong (June) Fu Zebra Technology Corp. is seen as having returned to profitability in the 2016 fourth quarter after four consecutive quarterly losses, and further increasing income in 2017. The provider of printers and barcode scanners is estimated by analysts to make annual revenue of $3.58 billion in 2017, slightly higher than the estimate […]

Sprint narrows net loss on big increase in subscribers

Sprint

By Yingcong (June) Fu Sprint Corp. narrowed its net loss by 43 percent in the most recent quarter as the company logged the largest number of new postpaid phone subscribers in four years. The telecommunications company said Tuesday that its net loss in the fiscal quarter ended Dec. 31 narrowed to $479 million, or 12 […]

U.S. economic growth rate slowed by wider trade deficit

Shoppers on State Street in Chicago’s Loop

By Yingcong (June) FU The U.S. Gross Domestic Product grew at an estimated seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 1.9 percent in the fourth quarter, up 1 percentage point from the year-ago period, but slower than the upwardly-revised 3.5 percent annual growth rate in the third quarter, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis on Friday. […]