My Blog

Category: Business

  • Spanish Miners Fire Rockets at Police

    In a scene that looks more like Gaza than Spain, striking coal miners armed with homemade rockets and slingshots clashed with police Friday, leaving seven people injured– two of them seriously– the Interior Ministry said. The strike is the latest and the most violent of many in Spain in reaction to harsh austerity measures aimed…

  • Teens Employment Lowest Since WWII – Obama Not Helping

    This article was published yesterday about the same time that Obama was in the Rose Garden making the situation worse: Fewer than 3 in 10 American teenagers now hold jobs such as running cash registers, mowing lawns or busing restaurant tables from June to August. The decline has been particularly sharp since 2000, with employment…

  • City Hall’s New TIF Troubles

    This story is actually from early April: According to a report issued today by Chicago Inspector General Joe Ferguson, a fluke of state law means that many neighboring business districts that collect an extra property tax to pay for security, advertising and the like actually have had to pay twice — once for security, et…

  • Strange Pelican Brewery Coming to the West Side

    For my local Chicago readers: Under the name Strange Pelican Brewing Company, McNeil will brew about 3,000 barrels a year in a 10,000-square-foot space near the intersection of Damen Avenue and Fulton Street. Strange Pelican’s philosophy evokes maritime history – in other words, strong beers that were made to travel. While McNeil is still experimenting…

  • Drivers Get Creative to Avoid High Toll Fees

    Drivers fed up with New York City’s expensive toll roads are carpooling to save a few dollars on the George Washington Bridge, according to the Wall Street Journal. Bridge commuters can save $6 a vehicle by using the “carpooling” lane. Because of this, some rogue drivers have started picking up hitchhikers determined to save money…

  • Raise Taxes — Lose Revenue

    The current taxes on a pack of cigarettes in Chicago include $2 from Cook County, 98 cents from Illinois and 68 cents from the city. If Quinn signs the latest increase, the taxes in Chicago will be $4.66 per pack, compared with 99 cents in East Chicago. On Monday, a pack of Marlboros at a…

  • Illinois 3rd in Foreclosures Nationally

    This is embarrassing: Foreclosures starts in Illinois are on par with those in other areas but the state’s court-supervised foreclosure system continues to bog down properties in the process. Almost 7.5 percent of all one-to-four-unit mortgage loans in Illinois were in foreclosure in the first quarter, compared with a national average of 4.39 percent, according…

  • Gov. Red Tape Kills Another Biz, Jobs

    Last month when Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced his streamlining of city business licensing procedures, he chose Logan Square Kitchen as the location to herald this new day in better relations between the city and small businesses. And so it’s more than a little ironic that today LSK owner Zina Murray annouced on her website that…

  • Stripping Chicago Spending, Bare Down

    “What do a Chicago strip club and the President’s campaign fund have in common?” ANSWER:  BOTH were paid- with public funds- as “VENDORS” to the City of Chicago. _______________________________________ Yesterday, OpenTheBooks.com upgraded it’s transparency portal to include the City of Chicago checkbook from 2002-2011. It contains $74 billion in vendor payments. Last year 69,800 entities received checks. Here’s what I found while scanning…

  • Wealthy Flee France (Shhh, don’t tell the U.S. Media)

    For those that don’t know, France recently had an election and voted for the most socialist guy on the ballot.  The guy who’s promising to raise taxes on the rich and increase the transfer payments to the poor.  The result?  The rich are leaving…  in droves. France’s high earners feel increasingly unwelcome in a country…