Category: Business
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Chicago Business Round-Up
Cruising the local business section I found the following: Caterpillar Opening Facility in Mexico Peoria-based Caterpillar said Friday it is building a parts distribution center in Mexico that will employ up to 150 people. … The 500,000-square-foot facility will be in San Luis Potosi, and it’s expected to be operational in mid-2013. The new plant…
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Building a New Chicago
I was skeptical of Rahm coming in as mayor. But as time goes by I’m getting more and more impressed by his ability to take on the unions, manipulate the media, get things done, outmaneuver worthless alderman, and most importantly develop and articulate his vision for the city. (It appears that) He gets it. …
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Spain – The New Greece (and we’re next)
Spanish trade unions are holding a general strike across the country today to protest new labor reforms, and by all accounts it has been a largely peaceful protest. While for the most part conditions on the ground are relatively normal, photos from Madrid, Barcelona, and Pamplona indicated that some young protestors are escalating the angst,…
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Starbucks’ Bugs … Ya, Bugs!
Bet’cha didn’t know: Starbucks is getting backlash from the vegan community after changing how it colors its Strawberry Frappuccino, reports Bruce Horovitz at USA Today. It’s using ground up cochineal beetles. Gross, right? Perhaps, but the type of food coloring is government-approved and widely used throughout the food industry. via Business Insider. To see a…
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Countries Move to Isolate the U.S.
Are other countries planning for a U.S. demise? “I was in Australia earlier this month and there, as elsewhere on my recent travels, the consensus among the politicians I met (at least in private) was that Washington lacked the will for meaningful course correction, and that, therefore, the trick was to ensure that, when the…
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U2’s Bono on Band’s Tax Dodging
U2 singer Bono is known for his antipoverty activism, which includes calls on most world governments to spend more on foreign aid. Yet when it comes to the finances of Bono’s own company, he’s apparently a bit more of a Scrooge. Moreover, he’s loath to admit it, as an interview with author Jason Mattera caught…
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IMF Chief: Oil Supply Matters
Yesterday I wrote about the latest meme to come out of the White House: that the president cannot control oil prices. This is of course ridiculous. Should the president choose a path that would increase supply — even if not immediately — the price of oil would go down. Everyone knows that while the oil…
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Energy Sec. Wanted High Gas Prices
“Somehow, we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe.” — Steven Chu, President Obama’s Secretary or Energy in 2008 via POLITICO. Gas prices are exactly where Obama wants them. Billions invested in bogus and failing technologies. It’s easy to beat up on oil companies, however they average high…
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JPMorgan Bests the Fed
At 4:30 PM today, the Fed will announce stress test results. Whats interesting is that they were supposed to come out on Thursday at 4:30 PM. Why the change of schedule? Well, basically, JPMorgan came out with its announcement of dividends and buybacks around 3:00 PM. In that announcement they said they had passed the…
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Mayor’s Friend Brings You the Speed Cameras
When Rahm Emanuel was a first-time candidate for Congress, Greg Goldner was behind him, quietly marshaling the patronage troops that helped get him elected. When Emanuel ran for mayor, Goldner was there again, doling out campaign cash to elect Emanuel-friendly aldermen to City Council. And when the rookie mayor was looking for community support for…