BY JENIECE PETTITT
MEDILL NEWS SERVICE

At the Voices for Illinois Children’s recent “Illinois Kids Count 2010 Symposium” at The Standard Club in Chicago, a panel discussion revolved around the topic of families in a time of economic crisis. It was a gloomy outlook for children in the state as Illinois deals with high [...]

Major League baseball’s opening day is less than a month away. Chicago Cubs and White Sox fans are as excited as ever to see their teams take the field in early April, but they may be planning to do so from the comfort of their own homes. In the current economic climate, baseball fans are [...]

Warren Liu’s “KFC in China” not only highlights the exciting growth potential in the world’s third largest economy, but also reveals how the American fast food giant managed to become the largest restaurant chain on the other side of the world.

BY MICHAEL BELLER – MEDILL NEWS SERVICE

It’s no secret that people have had to cut back across the board during the economic downturn.  In the sports world, that’s led to lower attendance and plummeting net gate receipts, the best measure of revenue garnered by teams and leagues from people going to games.  In the first quarter of the current NBA season, net gate receipts were down 7.4 percent from the previous season.  MLB attendance plunged 6.6 percent to 73.4 million, and the attendance at NCAA college football games dropped 1 percent from 2008, the first time in five years there were less fans through the turnstiles

BY ALICE TRUONG
MEDILL NEWS SERVICE

Fellow Medill Money Maven Graydon Gordian spoke with me recently about his article exploring the business of boxing and how the boxers are viewed and treated as commodities. Hear how he came upon this story and the role boxing has played on his professional and personal life. To read his [...]

Gov. Quinn has announced spending cuts and a tax increase to fix the budget crisis, but has failed to mention immediate pension reform.

Some gloomy numbers loomed over the real estate market this week when national home sales and prices dropped, while mortgage rates creeped up.

“Demand to buy homes is really weak,” said Patrick Newport, economist at IHS Global Insight.

PE firms have refinanced portfolio companies at a crucial juncture using a combination of large banks and junk bonds. Mone poured into junk bond funds at a record pace in 2009, from general bond funds, pension funds and others.

The RevPAR rate for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.’s North America properties, which boasts such swanky spots as the W and St. Regis, dropped 20.5 percent in the year ended Dec. 31.

At 3 P.M. Eastern on Thursday, the NBA’s trade deadline passed. Unless granted an extension by the league, NBA franchises are no longer allowed to trade players with one another this season. What’s done is done.