The Opening Bell

This week kicks off the annual Techweek event showcasing Chicago’s place on the startup and technology stage. Steve sat down with Adam Jones (Director of Technology at The Nerdery) to discuss the events through out the week and what they aim to achieve. This time of the year also marked the heat of the grilling season so Steve and Kevin Kolman (Weber Grill Master)  chatted about the do’s and dont’s of grilling along with some of the latest app connected […]

The business world is still thinking about last week’s news of Amazon spending $13.7 billion to buy Whole Foods. The next step is assessing the future of Whole Foods along with their partners, Instacart being one of them. Steve chatted with Nilam Ganenthiran (Chief Business Officer at Instacart) to touch on their expansion to 70 Midwestern zip codes and their further development in the grocery delivery market. In the world of real estate, another story was trending about how nowhere […]

On June 15, 2017 Steve Grzanich shares today’s potential market drivers: The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits comes from the USDOL today National Association of Home Builders releases the June index of builder sentiment Freddie Mac reports on this week’s average US mortgage rates Reports on US Industrial Production for May & the June survey of manufacturers in New York from the Federal Reserve The Treasury Department releases international money flows data for April  

On June 13, 2017 Steve Grzanich shares today’s potential market drivers: The USDOL releases the Producer Price Index for May Federal Reserve Policy Meeting begins today The report detailing the suggested changes for Uber is released to the company today E3 continues today The Verizon buyout of Yahoo is set to close today Attorney General Jeff Sessions testifies today  

When was the last time you entered a fantasy sports league? Well, the next time you join one, it could be much more regulated. Yesterday the American Gaming Association announced their push to lift the ban on sports betting so Steve discussed the detailed with AGA CEO, Geoff Freeman. Interest rates then took the spotlight as the Federal Reserve continues their meeting today, likely raising rates. Steve and Barry Sturner (President of Townstone Financial) discussed how the rate hike will […]

Fast fashion is a huge business that has taken American culture by storm. However, the sustainability of this model is difficult, opening up other avenues for competitors to step in: cue Les Lunes. Steve discussed the bamboo sourced, French inspired clothing wear with CEO, Anna Lecat. Steve then touched on a changing child support law in Illinois, and Hellen Ashford (Co-founder and Managing Partner at Luckett and Ashford) detailed the major changes that have already been put into place.  

On June 12, 2017 Steve Grzanich shares today’s potential market drivers: The Treasury Department releases a Federal Budget The Monthly Treasury Statement of Receipts and Outlays for the government today Today marks the 1 year anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub shooting Forbes releases its celebrity 100 list Tomorrow the Labor Department releases the Producer Price Index for May & the Federal Reserve starts a meeting deciding if another interest rate hike will be announced.  

News of the British snap election was the focus this morning as it sent the value of the pound spiraling into the ground. Steve checked in with Paul Nolte (SVP, Sr. Portfolio Manager at Kingsview Asset Management) to talk about the snail like trading this week and how the ECB will fare in the wake of this hung parliament. Continuing to look world wide, Steve shared a few of the best companies from the BrandZ Top 100 Global Brands and […]

The summer season means great weather, young people moving, and new tech gadgets. Steve dove into all of it kicking off the morning with the Associated Bank Thought Leader featuring Greg Warsek (SVP, Chicago Market Manager of Commercial Real Estate Division at Associated Bank). Jennifer Jolly then gave Steve the run down on the latest summer tech gadgets, perspective on Apple’s new smart home speaker, and tried out a selfie drone. You can see Jennifer and Steve test out the […]

On June 8, 2017 Steve Grzanich shares today’s potential market drivers: The USDOL releases the weekly jobless claims Freddie Mac presents weekly mortgage rates Fired FBI Director, James Comey will testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee