Chicago Economic & Finance News - Page 84

the urban politician · #**1661** Posted: **Jul 18, 2012, 5:48 PM**

^ Great news. Here is more good news, with some notable quotations from the article:

Chicago Sees Jobs Rebound: Study
By Ward Room Staff
| Wednesday, Jul 18, 2012 | Updated 7:37 AM CDT

Great news for job hunters. Chicago's job market is doing better than most major cities, according to an independent study released Wednesday.
The University of Chicago report authored by economist Austan Goolsbee shows the city's labor market improved at an impressive rate over last year with May's unemployment rate at 9.8 percent, down from 11.5 percent in May 2011.

Quote:

Since last year, the number of people without jobs dropped more in Chicago any other U.S. big city, according to the study.

Quote:

Right now there are 28,000 more people with jobs in Chicago compared to a year ago, and the number of workers looking for a job dropped by almost 20,000.
Houston was the only U.S. city that created more jobs than Chicago.

Steely Dan · #**1662** Posted: **Jul 18, 2012, 6:00 PM**

but i thought chicago was a dying city?

the urban politician · #**1663** Posted: **Jul 18, 2012, 6:28 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

but i thought chicago was a dying city?

Enough already

jboy560 · #**1664** Posted: **Jul 18, 2012, 9:24 PM**

Keep your fingers crossed. I'd love a repeat of the 90s as far as Chicago's awesome economic performance.

Tom In Chicago · #**1665** Posted: **Jul 23, 2012, 3:08 PM**

More Zurich jobs. . .

http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...,7347483.story

Quote:

Zurich says it will add 150 jobs in Chicago

By Kathy Bergen
Tribune staff reporter
7:43 a.m. CDT, July 23, 2012

Zurich, a commercial property-casualty insurance company, will add 150 jobs downtown over the next few years, boosting its presence there to about 500 insurance and risk-management professionals.

The company's planned expansion downtown was announced Monday by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Most of the jobs are expected to be transfers from other Zurich offices, a company spokeswoman said.

. . .

Ch.G, Ch.G · #**1666** Posted: **Jul 26, 2012, 8:39 PM**

huge news from the Sun-Times:

Motorola Mobility leaving Libertyville for Merchandise Mart

BY SANDRA GUY | Business Reporter | Last Modified: Jul 26, 2012 03:32PM

Motorola Mobility will move its Libertyville headquarters — and 3,000 workers — to downtown Chicago, taking the top four floors and rooftop of the Merchandise Mart and becoming the landmark building’s largest tenant with 600,000 square feet, Motorola Mobility CEO Dennis Woodside and Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Thursday...

Motorola Mobility will join 1871, the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center’s 50,000-square-foot incubator for technology startups, and tech-related companies such as Allscripts and Razorfish in the Merchandise Mart, creating what Emanuel termed a “tech campus” for the city...

The Sun-Times reported last month that Google was in talks with the Mart to take more than 500,000 square feet. Mobility will invest $300 million in the move, which includes a 15-year lease.

No city of Chicago tax incentives are involved in the relocation, a mayor’s office spokeswoman said. Google has its own presence in Chicago, employing “a few hundred” people at 20 W. Kinzie, a company spokeswoman said...

Woodside, who succeeded former Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha 60 days ago in the top job, said the 3,000 workers relocating to the Mart include close to a majority of Mobility’s senior executives, among them the company’s chief of staff Marshall Brown and the heads of engineering, sales and design, plus about 50 vice presidents...

Of the Mart, Woodside said, “You walk into that building and there is energy — all kinds of places to eat, the train coming right in there, the train station across the river.”

Since many Mobility workers will now commute by train instead of car, Woodside said, “We wanted people to be able to use the train time productively, and all that worked at the Mart.”

Woodside, who works out of California and was previously president of Google’s Americas region, said Mobility executives believed that the company needed the access to talent and ideas that a major city such as Chicago affords, as well as easy access to universities, public transportation and the buzzing energy of commuters, residents, tourists, office workers and others using smartphones as they walk down the street.

“We have the opportunity to create a tech innovator in the middle of the country that draws from people who are graduating from the University of Illinois, the University of Chicago, Northwestern, Michigan, Wisconsin and others — and who don’t want to have to work on the coasts to work in high tech,” Woodside said. “They want to stay home...”

Emanuel said the Mobility move to the Mart — the largest of any corporate relocations announced so far under his tenure — affirmed the city’s strategy of investing in its people and their quality of life, including education, government and infrastructure. Six other companies have previously announced headquarters relocations to Chicago: General Electric Transportation (500 jobs this year, another 500 expected later), Federal Savings Bank (400 jobs in the next three years), Hillshire Brands (former Sara Lee meats business, 650 jobs), accounting firm McGladrey (500 jobs in the next three years), Sagence management advisory firm (245 jobs) and ThyssenKrupp, a German global technology and materials group (100 jobs).

“It shows the diversity of the Chicago economy and the strength we have in terms of our talent, quality of life and decisions to invest in our core strengths.” Emanuel said.

the urban politician · #**1667** Posted: **Jul 26, 2012, 8:56 PM**

Great news.

3000 well paid employees, right in the heart of downtown, no tax incentives, right next door to transit.

What more could a guy ask for?

Now all I need is for Pilsen to gentrify (I just bought a 6 flat there that I plan to rehab) and I'll be set!

Standpoor · #**1668** Posted: **Jul 27, 2012, 4:58 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by the urban politician

What more could a guy ask for?

No incentives what so ever. I guess I should not rain on the parade, this is great news and will only help downtown and the city.

Tom In Chicago · #**1669** Posted: **Jul 27, 2012, 4:31 PM**

I keep thinking about this Motorola move and the more I do, the more I realize how significant will actually be. . . I can't think of anything in the last 20 years that has had this much of an impact on the Loop. . . Boeing relocation, United relocation/merger with Continental. . . perhaps the CME/CBOT merger is more important, but I think Motorola will be more visible from a day to day perspective. . .

It's right up there with Navy Pier and Millennium Park I think. . .

. . . maybe the CTA Orange Line to Midway

. . .

urbanpln · #**1670** Posted: **Jul 27, 2012, 6:12 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom In Chicago

I keep thinking about this Motorola move and the more I do, the more I realize how significant will actually be. . . I can't think of anything in the last 20 years that has had this much of an impact on the Loop. . . Boeing relocation, United relocation/merger with Continental. . . perhaps the CME/CBOT merger is more important, but I think Motorola will be more visible from a day to day perspective. . .

It's right up there with Navy Pier and Millennium Park I think. . .

. . . maybe the CTA Orange Line to Midway

. . .

I totally agree with you T.I.B. but congressman Joe Walsh doesn't seem to agree. He just released a statement saying that he is upset over the move because Chicago is crumbling and, that Emanuel is using this to cover up the fact that the city is declining. What an ass.

jpIllInoIs · #**1671** Posted: **Jul 27, 2012, 10:16 PM**

Not in Chicago but close enough...

The article makes it sound like the company is pretty wobbly.

Indiana Business Journal IBJ Staff and Associated Press
July 23, 2012

A troubled central Indiana nuclear medicine company is dropping plans to build a $55 million facility with 86 workers in Noblesville after reaching a better deal with Gary.

Instead, Fishers-based Positron Corp. said it plans to build a $65 million facility in Gary that would employ up to 50 people within five years.

Positron will make radioactive medical imaging isotopes at the new plant, which will be equipped with a 70-million-electron-volt cyclotron, it said in a press release issued Friday.
...
Cyclotrons are molecular particle accelerators that can be used to produce isotopes that can help physicians spot medical anomalies in the human body. The Gary plant will boast the nation's most powerful commercial cyclotron, the company said.

Gary has approved $15 million in tax increment financing bonds for Positron and is helping the company land New Market Tax Credits worth another $15 million, Positron said.
.....

Noblesville proposed offering the company up to $6.7 million in incentives to help it acquire equipment, and the state offered $900,000 in tax credits and $250,000 in training funds.

"The decision for amending the cyclotron’s location was purely based on the economics and advantages provided in Gary, which best suit the company’s strategy," Positron said in a written statement.

Positron has lost tens of millions of dollars in recent years, and the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission last year accused CEO Patrick G. Rooney of defrauding investors in a hedge fund he operates.

The company has racked up more than $110 million in losses since its founding in 1983. Its accounting firm issued a "going concern" warning about Positron in 2010, raising doubt about its ability to remain in business in the long term.

untitledreality · #**1672** Posted: **Jul 29, 2012, 9:29 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by urbanpln

I totally agree with you T.I.B. but congressman Joe Walsh doesn't seem to agree. He just released a statement saying that he is upset over the move because Chicago is crumbling and, that Emanuel is using this to cover up the fact that the city is declining. What an ass.

As his district loses 3000 jobs in an non incentive relocation. His reaction is almost as entertaining as the comment threads filled with uninformed suburbanites hating on Chicago.

MayorOfChicago · #**1673** Posted: **Jul 30, 2012, 4:44 PM**

http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...,2869371.story

Chicago Breaking Business Braintree to add 150 jobs in West Loop

Chicago-based online payments technology company Braintree is planning to triple its headcount over the next several years, hiring 150 new employees as it grows to accommodate an expanding customer base.....

...Emanuel visited Braintree's new West Loop headquarters Monday. The company, which has more than 60 employees and plans to hire 40 more by year-end...

MayorOfChicago · #**1674** Posted: **Jul 30, 2012, 4:46 PM**

http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...,6097730.story

Reznick moving Midwest HQ downtown from Skokie

Reznick Group, a Bethesda, Md.-based accounting firm, will move its Midwest headquarters from Skokie to downtown Chicago next year, Mayor Rahm Emanuel's office announced Monday morning.

The company, which also provides tax and business advisory services, plans to bring 150 to 200 jobs downtown by the end of 2015. That will include the 65 positions now in Skokie, plus new jobs.

rgolch · #**1675** Posted: **Jul 31, 2012, 8:18 PM**

God, I love hearing about all these suburban companies moving back downtown. Keep 'em coming.

Tom In Chicago · #**1676** Posted: **Jul 31, 2012, 10:35 PM**

^would be better if it wasn't metro cannibalism. . .

. . .

mind field · #**1677** Posted: **Aug 1, 2012, 2:22 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by rgolch

God, I love hearing about all these suburban companies moving back downtown. Keep 'em coming.

Likewise! It's great to come to this thread and see the torrent of businesses expanding and relocating in Chicago.

bnk · #**1678** Posted: **Aug 1, 2012, 2:47 AM**

You missed what Tom said... He had it right and he can see the larger picture.

I would be much more impressed if these jobs came from the south or west vs fighting ourselves for jobs that the whole region needs.

the urban politician · #**1679** Posted: **Aug 1, 2012, 12:29 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom In Chicago

^would be better if it wasn't metro cannibalism. . .

. . .

I am 50% with you on this one.

It does seem like most (but certainly not all) of the major announcements have been suburban companies relocating.

However, as long as de novo jobs are being created, I think we're okay. There is no reason to expect that a significant number of our jobs should come from poaching another region. We should not (nor can we!) model ourselves after Houston or Atlanta, but after regions that are creating their own new companies and industries.

Also, the migration of jobs downtown signals the strength of downtown for its capacity to add valuable networking and a talented workforce for the kinds of highly competitive companies that require it. But what it also does is leave cheaper suburban office space behind which I believe will eventually get filled for less intensive purposes. I think we will eventually see a new equilibrium (or at least I hope we do)

jpIllInoIs · #**1680** Posted: **Aug 1, 2012, 3:25 PM**

I haven't seen this posted yet. Must have been overlooked due to all the other HQ's and firms moving to Chicago's dying downtown....

Data firm to set up HQ in West Loop

By: Ryan Ori July 17, 2012
- 525 W. Monroe St. Photo from CoStar Group Inc. -

525 W. Monroe St. Photo from CoStar Group Inc.

(Crain's) — Sagence Group LLC, a fast-growing data analytics firm, is setting up its headquarters in Chicago, where it plans to expand to 245 employees within three years.

Sagence, which employs 60 people now, briefly had an office in Rosemont when it was created in 2009 but has since operated virtually, said Marisela Lawson, a Sagence founder and principal....

rest of story in pay section Chicago realestate