Continue reading Walmart Finally Coming to Chicago?

Walmart Finally Coming to Chicago? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: Santa and Eggnog Preside over Stocks (IBM, BRK.A, UAUA, FNM, FRE AAPL)

Closing Bell: Santa and Eggnog Preside over Stocks (IBM, BRK.A, UAUA, FNM, FRE AAPL) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Dec 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The future investment stars are already with us. The NYSE Financial Future Challenge, operated by the NYSE Foundation, By Kids for Kids, K12 Inc. and the United Investors Association, is in full swing, with five finalists just identified. To reach this level, the participants had to develop a new product, idea or process that would "excite, educate and motivate their peers" to become interested in the financial marketplace. The eventual winner lurks within this subset and will receive a $2,500 prize -- a great way to get that portfolio started. And, he or she will be feted at a closing bell ceremony at the NYSE (NYX) on January 11, 2010.

The finalists presented a variety of ideas which are sure to generate some buzz. Kelsey Foss, a 12-year-old from Mountainville, NY, proposed a new television show, "Stock Market Tycoon Idol," which would harness the popularity of reality TV while amping up the content. The program would involve the journeys of 10 kids as they seek to make money or lose it, with the possibility of becoming virtual millionaires along the way. The show would be set at a mock NYSE studio on Wall Street, and exports would be brought out to mentor the contestants. The reality TV reach would help engage a younger audience.

Continue reading Tomorrow's gurus shine in NYSE Financial Future Challenge

Tomorrow's gurus shine in NYSE Financial Future Challenge originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Citigroup cutting back on retail outlets

Citigroup cutting back on retail outlets originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) already has one store in Chicago, but ran into staunch resistance from the city's politicians and labor leaders when it looked to open more.

Now the company is deciding that the time is right to give it another shot: Chicago's budget is a mess and disposable income is at a premium. The theory apparently is that Chicagoans were willing to stand on principle when times were good but now that it's a recession, they'll happily trade their values in for everyday low prices.

It reminds me of this old story about the ever-wise-crackin' Sir Winston Churchill: The British Statesman offered a woman an enormous amount of money to provide him with a romantic favor. When she accepted, he countered with an offer of £10.

Continue reading Wal-Mart heads back to Chicago

Wal-Mart heads back to Chicago originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Can anything save Playboy? Don't bet your booty on it. originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 23 Jan 2009 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The real estate market is as bad as it gets, so lenders are getting cold feet about big projects. Even Donald Trump, who can usually work magic filling his buildings with tenants, is running into problems. (It should be noted he has never been good at the casino business and spends too much time doing TV junk like The Apprentice).

Trump may not have much of an argument. He wants an extension to the loan for his residential tower in Chicago, which means a portion of its has lapsed. Why the banks involved, including Germany's largest bank, Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB), would do that is unclear.

According to The Wall Street Journal, "The suit demands -- among other things -- that an extension provision in the original loan agreement be triggered because of the unprecedented financial crisis in the credit markets now prevailing, in part due to acts Deutsche Bank itself participated in." In other words, the financial crisis almost rises to the level of being an "act of God." Not quite, but getting close.

Trump's real problem is not the banks. Since everyone in the U.S. is poor, no one wants to buy his expensive Chicago condominiums. A lawsuit won't solve that.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.

Trump sues lenders originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 08 Nov 2008 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of a series on some of the most memorable companies that have disappeared.

The original Montgomery Ward retail strategy focused on selling quality merchandise over long distances. Aaron Montgomery Ward had a vision of providing first-quality goods, at reasonable prices, to rural customers who might otherwise not have had such merchandise available to them. The first Montgomery Ward catalog appeared in 1872 as a single sheet of paper, listing 163 items for sale, with ordering instructions.

By 1883, the Montgomery Ward catalog, dubbed the "Wish Book," had grown to 240 pages and 10,000 items. It wasn't until 1896 that Montgomery Ward faced any serious competition in the mail order field. That was the year Richard W. Sears fielded his first catalog and the fierce competition between the two companies began. By 1904, Montgomery Ward was mailing as many as three million, four-pound catalogs to its loyal customers across the country. In 1908, the company opened a 1.25 million square foot distribution center and headquarters north of downtown Chicago.

In 1926, Montgomery Ward opened its first retail store in Plymouth, Indiana, while continuing to operate its catalog business. The company rebuffed a merger offer from Sears in 1930. All was well until the early 1950s when the automobile gave birth to suburbia, and Montgomery Ward held the city ground while its competitors moved out to the strip malls. By the mid 1960s, the company's catalog sales began to weaken and the company struggled into the 1970s after a merger with Container Corporation of America. In 1976, the company was acquired by Mobil Oil, and an aggressive restructuring buoyed the company. However, its catalog operations ceased in 1985, as its retail outlets underwent transformation from department stores to specialty stores. A leveraged buyout then took the company private in 1988.

Continue reading Companies that vanished: Montgomery Ward, offering quality goods for 130 years

Companies that vanished: Montgomery Ward, offering quality goods for 130 years originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 10 Jun 2008 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

eBay sued by Chicago over amusement taxes originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 21 May 2008 15:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If you live in Philadelphia's Society Hill, Atlanta's Grant Park, or Dallas's University Park, (and if you're the type who doesn't pay much attention to what's going on in the world), you might be tempted to ask, "Housing slump? What housing slump?"

That's because you live in one of the most lucrative neighborhoods in the U.S., as listed by Forbes. Neighborhoods in 15 major metropolitan areas made the list because they experienced the greatest increase in home sales prices since 1990 -- between 300% and 4,000%. Many were downtrodden areas that benefited from an influx of development. A few others were already among the most upscale neighborhoods in the nation, and have thus far resisted the recent housing slump. For example:

• Bucking the Florida real estate downturn is Miami Beach's City Center, with its mega-mansions with built-on docks. The 2006 median home sales price was $1.64 million, up 1,532% since 1990.
• Chicago's Wicker Park benefited from an influx of young urban professionals and rehabbers. The 2006 median home sales price was $575,525, an increase of 1,870%.
• San Francisco's Western Addition neighborhood is among the fastest growing in U.S. The 2006 median home sales price was $1.38 million, an increase of 522% since 1990.
• New York's uptown neighborhood around 149th Street and Riverside drive features large brownstones and federal townhouses. Its 2006 median home sales price was $774,708, up 4,391%.

See the article at Forbes.com for the complete list.

Forbes: The most lucrative neighborhoods originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 20 Jan 2008 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It seems Chicago, home of Wrigley Field and the Sears Tower, has hired a marketing firm to explore the potential of offering naming rights to public property, programs, and other assets as a way of raising revenue. The city hopes to begin attracting corporate sponsors as soon as next spring. Any proposed sponsorship will have to be approved by an advisory committee made up of civic leaders, whose job it will be to ensure the integrity of the city's brand image.

Chicago isn't the only city to consider offering naming rights. New York has partnerships with Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), and Pepsico (NYSE: PEP), and the Las Vegas monorail is sponsored by Nextel (NYSE: S). Winnipeg, Calgary, and Toronto also have similar programs.

Chicago is no stranger to naming rights issues. The city has already attempted to sell naming rights to the Chicago Skyway, which links the city to the Indiana Tollway. Many White Sox fans decried the name change of New Comiskey Park to U.S. Cellular Field, and an attempt to sell the name of Solider Field ultimately went nowhere. Many Windy City shoppers still haven't forgiven Macy's Inc. (NYSE: M) for changing the name of State Street institution, Marshall Fields.

But Chicago hasn't yet found itself in the embarrassing situation that Houston did after the naming of Enron Field. I wonder if there was an advisory committee to protect the integrity of Houston's brand image?

Chicago to offer naming rights: Will it become the Wendy's City? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 25 Nov 2007 16:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

CME ups CBOT ante, again originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 06 Jul 2007 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When I worked in Chicago's Loop, I used to see the traders everywhere, with their brightly colored jackets and their enormous badges. Whether in their smoking circles, crowded into the restaurants and bars, or simply scurrying from one place to another, there was a air of frenetic energy about them, and though sometimes looking weary, they always seemed to be having a good time.

Well, as it turns out, Chicago, home of the championship Bulls and Bears, is also the top trading city in the world, according to a survey of traders by Trader Monthly. London, New York, Dubai, and Miami rounded out the top five.

The two largest U.S. futures marts and the largest U.S. options exchange can be found in the Windy City. Trading is "in the city's blood," said the magazine. Just this past week the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (NYSE: CME) had its second-highest volume trading day ever.

Trader Monthly rated cities on several factors, including trading infrastructure, taxes, access to capital, weather, nightlife, and time zone. Especially popular with traders was the real estate market; Chicago is infinitely more affordable than London or New York, the next two runners up.

Chicago is tops with traders originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 10 Jun 2007 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Windy City gets local Olympic bid originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 16 Apr 2007 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A wiley time at Quizno's originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 05 Apr 2007 12:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Julie Roehm too 'sexy' for Wal-Mart; proves Bentonville still honors Sam's values

Julie Roehm too 'sexy' for Wal-Mart; proves Bentonville still honors Sam's values originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 08 Dec 2006 16:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Starbucks employee unionizing effort spread originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Sep 2006 18:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.