The Opening Bell

On September 14th, 2017 Steve Grzanich shares today’s potential market drivers: The Labor Department reports on US consumer prices for August and the number of people reporting for unemployment benefits last week Freddie Mac reports on the average weekly mortgage rates Federal Identity Forum and Exposition gets underway today with Steve Mnuchin speaking at the event  

On September 13th, 2017 Steve Grzanich shares today’s potential market drivers: The IEA Oil Market Report for September is released today The PPI Numbers for August are out today Sen. Bernie Sanders introduces his “Medicare for All” legislation today State of The European Union will be presented today at the Parliament in Strasbourg The IOC is expected to ratify the 2024 and 2028 host cities  

Earlier in the week, Equifax announced that possibly 140 million of their consumer accounts have been breached. DJ Vogel (Partner at Sikich LLP – Security & Compliance Practice) and Steve talked about the unprecedented violation that could lead to the company’s bankruptcy and what millions of consumers can do to help avoid future impacts. Bryan Quigley (SVP at the US Chamber Institute for Legal Reform) then detailed a new survey that show the fairness of states’ lawsuit environments. Unfortunately, Cook […]

Natural disasters are detrimental to not only the communities, but throughout the rest of the economy. Steve discussed the economic ripples that Hurricane Harvey and Irma sent across the country with Roberto Barrios (Associated Professor of Anthropology at SIU & Co-Chair of Risk and Disaster TIG-SFAA). Dale Buss then chimed in on the larger Midwestern business conversation as Amazon inches closer to deciding where it’s second US headquarters will be built. Cities across the country have been reaching out to […]

For those in the arts community, the Chicago based Paper Source is a Midwestern mecca for the paper arts. Steve chatted with Winnie Park (CEO of Paper Source) about the miraculous growth of her company and how her level approach to running the business helps connect with customers at the ground level. Steve then looked international after the Midwest Manufacturing Trade Mission wrapped up last week held by The American-Turkish Council. Umut Acar (Council General of Turkey) told Steve about […]

On September 11th, 2017 Steve Grzanich shares today’s potential market drivers: No major economic reports out today Tomorrow the Labor Department releases it’s job openings and labor turnover survey for July Wednesday, the Labor Department releases the producer price index for August  

From Hurricane Irma to the Federal Reserve, the economic impact of news this week has been massive. Steve and Paul Nolte (SVP & Sr. Portfolio Manager at Kingsview Asset Management)  worked through many of the stories that drives their decisions in the market. What started off the week’s news cycle was the gradual rescinding of DACA across the country. Dan Griswold (Sr. Research Fellow and Co-Director of The Program on The American Economy and Globalization at the Mercatus Center) discussed […]

On September 7th, 2017 Steve Grzanich shares today’s potential market drivers: The Labor Department reports on the number of people who filed for unemployment benefits last week and revised data on productivity in the second quarter Freddie Mac shares this week’s average mortgage rates NY Fashion Week for Spring & Summer 2018 begins today The 2017-2018 NFL Season begins today  

Wealth management has been a pillar of personal finance ever since Benjamin Franklin helped establish this country. Steve discussed the changes in today’s wealth management industry during the weekly Associated Bank Thought Leader conversation with Doug Myers (SVP & Private Banking Regional Manager at Associated Bank). Managing neighborhoods is also vital to the country’s prosperity and Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives is succeeding at that. Steve and David Doig (President at CNI) discussed the upcoming opening of the new Whole Foods distribution […]

When people hear the term “wealth management”, they tend to over look the younger generation, but the financial times are changing. Steve chatted with this week’s Associated Bank Thought Leader, Doug Myers (SVP & Private Banking Regional Manager at Associated Bank), about the way millennials make money in the gig economy, how that impacts the way they save, and how the banking industry should approach this shift.