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There was a quick turnaround in the NFL referee lockout after a replacement referee botched a call that turned a Green Bay Packers’ Hail Mary interception into a touchdown for the Seattle Seahawks during a pivotal “Monday Night Football” game.  Thanks to the national uproar that resulted, the NFL and the NFL Referees Association (NFLRA) […]

As the nation celebrated the 40th anniversary of Title IX this summer, the previously all-male Augusta National Golf Club invited the first two women to join its ranks.  The invitation to former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice — whose handicap is reported to be between 13 and 14 — and South Carolina financier Darla Moore […]

There is no doubt that America needs to get its economic mojo back: in the 2nd quarter its GDP grew at an annualized rate of 1.7 percent, according to revised figures published on August 29th.  That growth number is down from two percent in the 1st quarter and 4.1 percent in late 2011. But, anyone […]

Chicago’s high-tech community wants to lure the area’s start-up companies back to 1871 — the year that the Chicago Fire burned the city to the ground.  1871 is the name of a 50,000 SF space on the Merchandise Mart’s 12th floor designed to house entrepreneurs seeking a collaborative and flexible work environment.  The name reflects […]

As Hurricane Isaac barreled its way up the Gulf Coast, the GOP was forced to cancel the first day of its Tampa-based 2012 nominating convention because of the whims of Mother Nature. The storm brought back unwanted memories of 2008’’s Hurricane Gustav, which forced the Republicans to postpone the start of the convention that nominated […]

US banks are finally opening their purse strings according to The Federal Reserve’s quarterly senior loan officer survey. Who’s getting loans? Large companies, people with decent credit applying for auto loans or credit cards and also people buying homes. There are a number of reasons for why the banks are feeling more confident: less competition […]

All of Wall Street is abuzz about stock brokerage Knight Capital which was brought to the edge of bankruptcy by a software glitch. Seventeen-year old Knight is one of the most trusted trading intermediaries for many of America’s largest mutual-fund companies and retail brokers. It could have all ended when, on August 1st, a software […]

The country’s economy — still powering along at 7.6% GDP growth in the second quarter, even after a much-talked-about slowdown — and especially its gradual shift toward domestic consumption and a burgeoning e-commerce market, is fueling a long boom in the sector. China’s industrial sector has fallen to an 8-month low.  The Purchasing Managers’ Index […]

Facebook’s first earnings report is now public and it’s making people a little cool to the world’s biggest friendship chain (955m users by the end of June). Facebook made a quarterly loss, of $157m. Since its IPO on May 18th, the company’s share price hasn’t regained its $38 initial price. On August 1st Facebook’s shares […]

My recent column on the Huffington Post reported on the advent on Wall Street into the housing market as companies like Blackstone and Colony Capital commit billions of dollars to bulk buying bank-owned (REO) single-family homes. I agree that there are pros and cons to this program. The clear source of popular resentment is that […]