My Blog

Category: Business

  • Pete’s Fresh Market — Update 09/19

    Reliable sources inform me that Pete’s and people from the city are sitting down and trying to work out a deal to restart construction.

    Reliable sources also have confirmed the facts of the original post.

    If any readers have stories of problems with any politicians please contact me privately with that information.  We have been abused by our elected officials for far too long.  Criminal elected officials are the reason why the West Side does not have the retail and other amenities of other neighborhoods.

    It’s immoral, unethical, and just plain sad that the poor, who needs the most help, are the most abused.

    Rumors are swirling that a community meeting may be held one day next week.  Please visit again for further information.

     

    UPDATE:  This topic updated 09/25/2012 here.

  • Treasury Won’t Sell Take a Loss on GM Shares

    General Motors Co. executives want the Treasury Department to sell its almost 27 percent stake in the company because, they say, the feds are hurting their image and government pay restrictions are chasing away top talent.  …

    Government officials weren’t interested in the deal.“At GM’s Friday share price of $24.14, the U.S. would lose about $15 billion on the GM bailout if it sold its entire stake,” the Journal notes. “While GM stock would need to reach $53 a share for the U.S. to break even, Treasury officials would consider selling at a price in the $30s.”

    via TheBlaze.com.

    This is the Treasury department playing politics.  Treasury is supposed to be “above” politics.  It’s supposed to control the U.S.’s monetary policy such that our economy grows at a steady pace.

    The question now is did Tim Geithner make this decision or did it come from Obama himself?

  • Moneyball in Law Firms

    Moneyball is moving onto another major-league diamond: Big Law, where law firm chiefs—under pressure from clients to cut costs—are re-engineering law firm management, much as the Oakland Athletics’ Billy Beane did for baseball.

    Exploding salaries, frequent roster changes and emphasis on short-term performance in a tight economy are just some of the sports-world realities confronting the legal industry.

    via Crain’s Chicago Business.

    Couldn’t happen to a more well deserving bunch of people.

    I’ve worked as in-house counsel for a couple of companies and lawyers understanding NOTHING about business.  They don’t understand cash flow, human resources, receivables, etc.  It’s amazing that big law has survived as long as it has.

    Big law is dying.  Everyone will be better off as a result.

  • Biggest Celebrity Salary? Take a Wild Guess

    You’ll never guess.  Really.  You won’t.

    Take a wild guess as to who it is.  I’ll give you a hint… it’s a sign of our society going over the cliff.

    The answer is here: Biggest Celebrity TV Salaries – Business Insider.

  • Why It’s Impossible to Run a Business Without Breaking the Law

    Shakedown in Chicago is commonplace.  It’s not just at Pete’s.
    [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMHxcfQfL_M]

  • Shakedown on the West Side

    PR — For Immediate Release

    SYNOPSIS:  LOCAL THUGS AND A QUESTIONABLE ALDERMAN MAY STOP CONSTRUCTION OF GROCERY STORE IN A FOOD DESERT.

    One of Chicago’s food deserts may not be getting a grocery store after all.  After years of wrangling, Pete’s Fresh Market broke ground on a site located at Western & Madison on Chicago’s West Side.  Neighbors had waged a 5 year battle to bring a grocery store to that location.  Alderman Bob Fioretti was on hand for the groundbreaking ceremony.  But it all came to a screeching halt last week after the store’s owner was threatened not only by local thugs, but by the city itself.

    A week ago the store’s site, exactly three miles west of the center of the city, had a construction trailer and several pieces of heavy equipment.  “They worked every day.  Even on weekends.” said a local resident who’s townhouse overlooks the site.  Sunday, the site was just another barren parcel of land which appear to cover the West Side.  The only remnant of construction is a single port-o-let.  Rumors swirl about the neighborhood whether or not construction may resume anytime soon.  Residents fear that they may have lost the only chance they had at getting a grocery store.

    After an arduous process taking years, Pete’s Fresh Market was selected for the site.  Several cut-rate or second tier grocers expressed interest however neighborhood residents feared that such a business would send the wrong message.  Like many gentrifying neighborhoods it can be hard to find the right balance between long-time residents who wish to remain and keep property values, and property taxes, level and urban pioneers who are looking to see some return on their investment.  Pete’s seemed like a natural fit.  It’s selection had the support of nearly all in the neighborhood.

    After the ground-breaking the neighborhood was excited about seeing their new store take shape.  Locals talked while walking their dogs, on porches and patios, and on the phone.  Emails were exchanged about everything from the construction fence going up to the equipment arriving on site.  Photos were taken and news releases sent.  “After being here for nine years I’m really looking forward to being able to walk to the grocery store.” said local resident Jim Bosco.

    The situation changed last week when Pete’s got hit with a one-two punch.

    First, a group of gentlemen who claim to be from the neighborhood stopped by the site and demanded jobs.  They appeared to be organized; not just a few guys walking down the street looking for work.  They came to the site, knew who to ask for, and demanded to be given jobs.  Pete’s owner happened to be on site and suggested they fill out applications for employment; he even provided them with the forms.  The group was told however that unless they were licensed, insured, and bonded that they could not be employed for construction work.  That was unacceptable to the group and they began to get loud, pushy, and generally belligerent.

    When the group was asked to leave the situation escalated.  One of the group’s members brandished a handgun.  Another told Pete’s owner that if they weren’t given jobs they would break every store window after it was open.  Only after the group was informed that police had been called did they break-up and disappear into the streets and alleys.

    Putting the unsettling experience behind them, Pete’s owner and the construction crew got back to work.  However a few hours later they would be interrupted again, this time by a city Streets & Sanitation inspector.  Pete’s was having a bad day; because the inspector proceeded to write Pete’s for 21 violations.

    That was too much for Pete’s owner to bear.  Business owners can deal with a few bullies who are looking for a handout.  However no business can survive in this city when someone in power deliberately makes life difficult.  Given the archaic and byzantine nature of Chicago’s codes any property is subject to numerous code violations at all times.  Further, it doesn’t even matter if you’re fully in compliance.  If the city writes the violation, you have to stop/ what you’re doing and head to building court.  That takes time away from your business and is expensive.

    Pete’s decided it was not wi/lling to fight city hall.  It pulled the plug on construction, removed the equipment, and now the residents question whether or not they will get their grocery store.

    The local residents don’t believe in coincidences.

    Thanks to the ward remapping, Pete’s is in the “old” 2nd Ward and the “new” 27th Ward.  This means that in addition to Alderman Fioretti, who spearheaded the new store, Alderman Walter Burnett is also well aware of Pete’s construction.  It also just so happens that the ring-leader of the group of thugs who showed up at Pete’s is known acquaintance of Ald. Burnett’s ASSISTANT chief of staff.  Further, those in the know have heard rumors for years about Ald. Burnett shaking down other business owners for everything from using the right valet service to hiring the right contractors.

    Many local residents believe that Ald. Burnett was directly involved in the attempted extortion of Pete’s.  They wonder why it is that Burnett is able to keep his job when so many of these stories are floating around openly.  If the ward remap stands as it is, Ald. Burnett is going to have some explaining to do to folks who live in this neighborhood as to why he’s perhaps ruined their chances of getting a quality grocery store.

    THIS POST IS UPDATED HERE.

    THIS POST IS UPDATED 09/25/2012 HERE.

    THIS POST UPDATED on 09/27/2012:  I learned that Ald. Burnett’s “chief of staff: was incorrect.  It was in fact Ald. Burnett’s Assistant Chief of Staff who is not only knows the thugs trying to shakedown Pete’s but WAS ACTUALLY ON SITE WITH THEM.  New post here.

  • ‘Patent Trolls’ Get Biggest Piece Of Patent Pie

    So-called patent trolls – which don’t actually make anything – in recent years received significantly larger damages awards on average than those won by companies that make things, a new report found.

    Critics of “trolls,” or nonpracticing entities, claim they hold huge numbers of patents and make money by simply attacking others with litigation.

    During the 2006-2011 period, these “trolls” received a median damages payment of $6.9 million versus practicing entities’ $3.7 million, according to the study by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

    via Business Insider.

    I know this is not my usual post but it’s important.  These Patent Trolls cost everyone money and contribute nothing to the economy.  They don’t provide jobs.  They provide little tax revenue.  Yet they drive up the cost of goods that we all buy on a regular basis.

    This is a legal problem that must be solved in Washington if we want to get this country moving again.

     

  • Where I Agree With the Teachers

    On the fourth day of the teachers’ strike, protesters targeted school board member Penny Pritzker, whose family owns the Hyatt hotel chain.

    At 3:30 p.m., thousands of demonstrators dressed in red gathered outside the Hyatt Regency Chicago, at 151 E. Wacker Dr., protesting the $5.2 million in TIF money the city provided for a new Hyatt hotel in the Hyde Park neighborhood. Around 4 p.m., they began marching south on Michigan Avenue toward the South Loop.

    Protesters said the TIF money spent on the Hyatt in Hyde Park would have been better used to improve schools in the neighborhood, and avoid budget cuts that have hurt the local schools.

    via CBS Chicago.

    Indeed, the TIF system in broken and the law needs to be repealed in Springfield.  Of that there can be no argument.

    But let’s look at this for just a second…

    $5.2 million for the new Hyatt.  26,000 CPS teachers.

    That’s $200 per teacher.  That would be an average salary increase of 0.000026% for each teacher FOR ONE YEAR.

    And that my friends is why unions suck.  They will keep the kids on the street fighting over mice nuts.  For all their fancy “for the children” rhetoric it’s really about draining every last nickel from the taxpayer.

    Leaches.

  • Jobless Claims Jump

    In a separate report, a sharp rise in gasoline costs drove up wholesale prices last month by the most in more than three years. But outside energy and food, price gains were mild.

    Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 382,000, the highest in two months, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The prior week’s figure was revised up to show 2,000 more applications than previously reported.

    via CNBC.

    We all expect this right?

    Is this the new normal?

  • More Americans Can’t Afford Banks

    In the aftermath of one of the worst recessions in history, more Americans have limited or no interaction with banks, instead relying on check cashers and payday lenders to manage their finances, according to a new federal report.

    Not only are these Americans more vulnerable to high fees and interest rates, but they are also cut off from credit to buy a car or a home or pay for college, the report from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said.

    Roughly 17 million adults are without a checking or savings account. Another 51 million adults have a bank account, but use pawnshops, payday lenders or rent-to-own services.  …

    The study also found that one in four households, or 28.3 percent, either had one or no bank account. A third of these households said they do not have enough money to open and fund an account. Minorities, the unemployed, young people and lower-income households are least likely to have accounts.via The Washington Post.

    Not a good sign.