Jobless claims decline as holiday shakeout ends
By Ashesha Mehrotra The number of Americans who filed for unemployment benefits last week dropped to a seven-week low last week, a better-than-expected performance that suggests the labor market is stabilizing after a period of post-holiday layoffs. In the week ended Feb. 6, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday, initial jobless claims declined by […]
A promising future for Mondelez, if cost-cutting succeeds
By Sony Kassam Known for its Cadbury chocolates and Oreo cookies, the snacks food and beverage company Mondelez International Inc. has a hopeful long-term future, analysts say, if it continues to shrink costs, improve efficiency, and survive the volatile commodity market. The Deerfield, Ill.-based company is a leading provider of confectionary products with over $3 billion […]
Packaging Corp. of America stock plummets after profit decline
By Lawrence Rigby Packaging Corp. of America stock plummeted after the company reported an 8.8 percent profit decline that triggered two downgrades. The fall came despite the Lake Forest Ill.-based manufacturing company’s reporting a fourth quarter net income of $104.3 million, or $1.08 per share, beating analyst expectations of $1.03 per share. The profit was a decline from […]
Governor agrees, but Cullerton responds: “Not my plan”
By Harvard Zhang An unusual state bipartisan move took a turn Thursday as Illinois Democratic Senate President John Cullerton said a pension proposal Republican Governor Bruce Rauner attributed to him and endorsed was not what they talked about and didn’t have his support. Sen. Cullerton declared that he and the governor still have “fundamental disagreement” over the role […]
State budget deadlock jeopardizes manufacturing industry
By Lawrence Rigby Springfield’s inability to pass a budget for fiscal 2016 threatens to make life harder for the already hard-pressed Illinois manufacturing industry. The deadlock could cause manufacturers to lose a Research and Development tax credit that encourages the innovation of new R&D projects. The possible loss of the 6.5 percent tax credit, due […]
Illinois pays Wall Street millions despite budget deadlock
By Harvard Zhang The state of Illinois should take legal action against bank holding companies to cancel investment deals that are costing the state $6 million every month while it skips social services payments amid its continuing budget impasse, according to a research report released Tuesday. Co-authors and supporters of the report, dubbed “Turned Around: […]
Analysts Share Positive Outlook for McDonald’s After Share Price Surges
By Ashesha Mehrotra Analysts are becoming increasingly optimistic about the future of McDonald’s Corp., after the company started 2016 on a positive note with a sharp rise in its stock price since last year and reported a gain in the U.S. comparable sales for the first time after 2013. After years of slumping sales and […]
Illinois $480-million GO bond gets solid reception despite budget impasse
By Harvard Zhang The state of Illinois was able to sell $480 million of general obligation bonds Thursday at a lower interest rate than the last competitive sale, despite its ongoing budget deadlock and pension logjam. Bank of America Merrill Lynch won the bidding among nine competitors at an overall interest rate of 3.99 percent, […]
Evanston lotto fever
By Lawrence Rigby Evanston had a Powerball lottery winner in 2014. Can the Chicagoland produce a jackpot record-breaking winner again?
ESL programs in Illinois prisons limited by lack of data, bureaucratic delays
By Dean DeChiaro and Phoebe Tollefson Ten years after bilingual education programs were discontinued in Illinois prisons, the Department of Corrections has initiated a new pilot aimed at meeting the needs of non-English speaking inmates. Meanwhile, red tape has put classes at the state’s only other bilingual prison education program on hold, worsening the daily […]
