Is it time for portfolio managers to hedge?

By Lucy Ren Shirley Luo, 29 years old, has been with Goldman Sachs since 2007. A vice president in the distressed-debt trading group, Luo recently quit the prestigious company this year, to join a start-up hedge fund. Luo’s career change is not unique in the investment banking industry. She said six or seven in her […]

Stocks hold onto gains after FOMC minutes

By Lucy Ren Stocks rose Wednesday as minutes from last month’s Federal Reserve policy meeting revealed little that would change expectations on interest rates.

Video: Do we need another t-shirt printer? Yes!

By Lucy Ren Within three years of operation, Lucky Prints LLC, a custom apparel printing shop located in the industrial district in Nearwest Chicago, has expanded its production line to twice as large, and increased its revenue by 25 percent last year. “It’s a pretty competitive industry, surprisingly,” said Adam Smith, co-founder of Lucky Prints. […]

Change of auditor delays earnings results for ITT Educational

By Lucy Ren Lagging behind in releasing its earnings for two consecutive quarters, ITT Educational Services Inc., one of the largest for-profit education providers in the country, is under a cloud that obscures its corporate outlook. Michael Tarkan, analyst at Compass Point Research & Trading, said his firm suspended its target price recommendation for ITT […]

Chicago workers show concern over wages

By Lucy Ren The U.S. labor market is showing great momentum for recovery as the unemployment rate dipped to a seven-year low of 5.5 percent in February. Nevertheless, wages remain stagnant, and that is a concern for a sampling of working people in downtown Chicago. Evelina Juarez, sales manager at the Fannie May candy store […]

Economists support Yellen’s caution

By Lucy Ren Speculation about how much lower the unemployment rate can go has been upgraded by last week’s report showing 5.5 percent, which supplied the public with more hope for achieving full employment. So why is the Federal Reserve still holding back from an interest rate hike? A random sampling of economists finds considerable support for Fed […]

Chicago Fed president: freeze rates until 2016

By Lucy Ren Charles Evans, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, said the Fed should “hold off on raising short–term rates until 2016” in order to achieve the 2 percent inflation objective.

Republican Lawmakers Question Fed’s Independence

By Lucy Ren On the second day of the semiannual monetary policy report to Congress, Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen faced a wave of criticism that Republican lawmakers heaped on her close relationship with the White House. Representative William Huizenga (R-MI) asserted that Yellen was “dealing with the executive branch instead of the legislative branch.”

Senator Challenges Yellen on Interest Rate

By Lucy Ren “The financial and economic crisis has been over for at least six or seven years,” Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) said in the Senate Banking Committee hearing on Tuesday, opposing the Federal Reserve’s sustaining “crisis level interest rates.” Toomey laid out a list of evidence supporting his statement, including low unemployment, the absence of […]

Yellen: Labor Market not Ready for Interest Rate Hike

By Lucy Ren “Things have improved notably but we are not there yet,” Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said during the semiannual monetary policy report to Congress on Tuesday, as she reiterated the “patient” guidance on when the Fed will begin to raise the short-term interest rate. Testifying before the Senate Banking Committee, Yellen said […]