The Nevada Development Authority is asking Chicago business owners to consider relocating to their state.
The agency is airing ads on Chicago television stations promoting Nevada’s warm weather and “pro-business conditions,” and referring to Illinois’ increases in income and corporate taxes.
“Nevada is a great place to live and has the best business climate in the country,” Nevada Development Agency President and Chief Executive Officer Somer Hollingsworth said in a statement. Get the full story »
The Sahara hotel-casino, a Rat Pack-era jewel of the Las Vegas Strip that age and a prolonged recession had tarnished, will close in May, owner SBE Entertainment announced Friday.
Chief Executive Sam Nazarian, the Los Angeles nightclub impresario who bought the Moroccan-themed casino in 2007 and vowed to restore its hipness, said in a statement that running the property was “no longer economically viable.” Get the full story »
A top Federal Reserve official reiterated Friday that improving economic growth will not deter the central bank from following through to its end a $600 billion bond buying program, as he faced an audience skeptical the Fed has a handle on the economy’s true inflation dynamics.
“We provided additional monetary policy stimulus via the asset purchase program to help ensure that the recovery regained momentum,” Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley said. “A stronger recovery with more rapid progress toward our dual mandate objectives is what we have been seeking. This is welcome and not a reason to reverse course” on policy, he said. Get the full story »
U.S. retail sales posted their largest gain in four months in February as shoppers stepped up purchases of autos, clothes and other goods even as they spent more for gasoline. Friday’s report from the Commerce Department pointed to strong consumer spending and acceleration in economic growth in the first quarter. Get the full story »
Brent and U.S. crude oil futures pared losses on Thursday, beset by deeper geopolitical concerns on witness reports that police fired upon protesters in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern province. Get the full story »
The net worth of Americans rose toward the end of last year as stock market portfolios surged, and overall household debt declined as mortgage liabilities waned.
In its “Flow of Funds” data, the Federal Reserve said Thursday that U.S. households’ total net worth rose 3.9 percent in the October through December period, to $56.823 trillion. Get the full story »
Forbes has released its list of 2011 billionaires, and there’s one new name on the list from Illinois — Chicago investor Eric Lefkofsky, the cofounder and 30 percent owner of Chicago-based Groupon.
Other billionaires from Illinois include Sam Zell, Penny Pritzker and Patrick Ryan. Get the full story »
U.S. wholesale inventories rose in January and sales set their fastest pace in 14 months, suggesting restocking and strong demand would lift the economy in the first quarter.
Total wholesale inventories rose 1.1 percent, to $436.88 billion, the highest level since November 2008, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. It revised December inventories up 1.3 percent. Get the full story »
The White House said on Wednesday it strongly opposed a Republican-backed spending bill and said President Barack Obama will veto a bill if it undermines his priorities or national security or curtails drivers of long-term economic growth.
“The unbalanced bill would undermine the nation’s economic recovery and its ability to succeed in a complex global environment,” the White House said in a statement. Get the full story »
American International Group repaid another $6.9 billion of its bailout on Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury said.
With that payment, the Treasury said it has now recovered 70 percent of the $411 billion distributed under the crisis-era Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. Get the full story »
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner urged Europe on Tuesday to strike a balance between tough fiscal reforms and financial support for troubled member states ahead of two crucial EU summits to resolve the bloc’s debt crisis. Get the full story »
White House economist Austan Goolsbee said on Friday the February jobs report showed President Barack Obama’s policies were working to improve the economy, but he said more needed to be done to create jobs.
“We will continue to work with Congress to find ways to reduce spending, but not at the expense of derailing progress in the job market,” Goolsbee said in a statement. Get the full story »
With crude oil at more than $100 a barrel and gold hovering near a record high, many are clearly worried about inflation.
But Friday’s jobs report featured some encouraging news on the inflation front — in the most classic economic textbook sense, it isn’t showing up in the broader economy yet. Get the full story »
Job seekers in Chicago speak with recruiters at a career fair at Malcolm X College last summer. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
The U.S. jobs market rebounded in February and unemployment fell below 9 percent for the first time in nearly two years, the latest signs of a steadily improving economy.
Nonfarm payrolls rose by 192,000 last month as private-sector employers added 222,000 jobs, the Labor Dept. said Friday in its survey of employers. The January number was revised to show an increase of 63,000 jobs, from a previous estimate of 36,000.
In Illinois, the unemployment rate fell to 9.0 percent in January, the Illinois Department of Employment Security reported Thursday.
The unemployment rate, which is obtained from a separate household survey, fell to 8.9 percent last month, the first time it dipped below 9 percent since April 2009. About 13.67 million people who would like to work can’t get a job. Get the full story »
