The Opening Bell

The Foxconn plant landing in Wisconsin has the potential to have positive impacts for the work force in both states, but there is a long road before people fill those roles. Steve sat down with the Associated Bank Thought Leader Breck Hanson (Vice Chairman of Associated Bank) to see how banks hold key to beginning large manufacturing projects, and how the jobs will help push the economy forward.  

On August 3rd, 2017 Steve Grzanich shares today’s potential market drivers: The US Department of Labor reports on the number of people who filed for unemployment benefits last week The US Department of Commerce reports on US factory orders for June The Institute for Supply Management issues the index for non-manufacturing activity for July Freddie Mac reports on this weeks average mortgage rates Weight Watchers, Hyatt Hotels, Yum Brands, Aetna, Go Pro, Kraft Heinz report earnings today  

On August 21st, a complete solar eclipse will happen in Carbondale, Illinois and Steve Grzanich will be there live. Leading up to the experience Steve will be looking into the science behind the eclipse, the preparations SIU Carbondale is making and much more. He started he conversation with Bob Baer (Co-Chair of the Southern Illinois Eclipse Committee) about what SIU is expecting. With colleges and schools in mind, the beginning of the school year is soon and Steve discussed the […]

Food waste in America is a huge problem due to the spoiling of goods, and that leads to loosing a lot of money. Steve and Aiden Mouat (CEO of Hazel Technologies) talked about the product his company has created to help keep food fresh up to four times longer than traditional methods.  Steve then turned to CNBC discussing with Editor John Harwood about how the global confidence has greatly changed since the Trump administration entered the White House and what […]

The Q2 earnings burst wraps up this week with Amazon, Starbucks, and plenty of others influenced the market, but the tech sector didn’t fare as well as earlier in the year. Steve touched on the overview of the industry with Paul Nolte (SVP, Sr. Portfolio Manager at Kingsview Asset Management). Virtual reality is in a very experimental stage right now, so no idea is a bad one, so Baptiste & Bottle combined virtual reality with cocktails. Ashok Selvam (Sr. Editor […]

The world of commercial real estate is constantly in flux. Thankfully Greg Warsek (SVP & Sr. Regional Manager of CRE in the Chicago Market) has his ear to the ground when he checked in with Steve for the weekly Associated Bank Thought Leader conversation. The two touched on the skyrocketing prices of square footage and remembered back to Greg’s new years predictions of virtual reality becoming more integrated into the CRE market.  

On July 27th, 2017 Steve Grzanich shares today’s potential market drivers: US Department of Labor releases weekly jobless claims US Department of Commerce releases details on durable good for June Freddie Mac has weekly mortgage rates UPS, Twitter, Comcast, Altria Group, Southwest Airlines, GSK, Royal Dutch Shell, Starbucks & Amazon all report earnings today The House Financial Services Committee holds a hearing on the state of international financial systems  

Chicago takes the cake in the 2017 National Green Building Adoption Index yet it’s major impacts may seem subtle. Steve discussed the details of the report and the changes to most “green” Chicago buildings with Dave Pogue (Global Director of Corporate Responsibility at CBRE). John Hupalo (CEO of Invite Education) then shared the good news about this year’s next set of tuition payments by telling Steve that tuition increases have leveled out with inflation rates and how debt is going […]

Whether people are aware of it or not, America is in the middle of an opioid crisis. The numbers are on the rise, but where does the country stand in the fight? Steve discussed a recent report with Professor Richard Bonnie (Director of the Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy at The University of Virginia) and touched on how these numbers are impacting the economy. The focus then shifted to the super market industry as many are still in […]

On July 25th, 2017 Steve Grzanich shares today’s potential market drivers: Federal Reserve Policy Makers begin a two day meeting today (likely leaving interest rates alone) Germany’s IFO Institute release it’s monthly business confidence index General Motors, Chipotle, Caterpillar, McDonalds all report earnings today.