Four of the city’s real estate all-stars—an appraiser, investor, academic  and analyst—spent a little over two hours bemoaning the industry’s bleak 2010 fate at Thursday’s Chicago Association of Realtors Forecast. Then, they boiled their complicated, chart-heavy predictions into a bookmark-sized Letterman-esque top 10 list.

Click here to listen to Suzanne Bodlovic, once the only female futures trader in the Russell pit at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, describe her transition from floor-trading to electronic trading – and how she did it during some of the most wild economic conditions.

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BY EMILY CO – MEDILL NEWS SERVICE

For most, a car is the biggest purchase in their lives aside from buying a house. The trouble is, many people become blindsided by the sexy gleam of their future car and overlook details that may save them more than a few bucks.

BY GRAYDON GORDIAN – MEDILL NEWS SERVICE

Once upon a time it was considered nearly impossible to get the Securities and Exchange Commission to grant a new exchange license. Nowadays, it only takes a few months.

A Brunswick bowling alley in Niles, Ill. The company holds a dominant market share in bowling, and net sales in that segment were $82.2 million for the most recent quarter.

BY MICHAEL BELLER – MEDILL NEWS SERVICE

Existing homes, like this one in Lakeview, had a boost in sales last year for the first time since 2005. Jacquelyn Ryan/MEDILL

BY JACQUELYN  RYAN – MEDILL NEWS SERVICE

New homes sales fell 7.6 percent in December from the previous month, helping to make 2009 the worst year on record for sales [...]

BY ALICE TRUONG – MEDILL NEWS SERVICE

Is money from Bank of America or Goldman Sachs Group Inc., likely to blur Sen. Christopher Dodd’s judgment as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee?

Northern Trust on LaSalle Street. Alice Truong/MEDILL

BY ALICE TRUONG – MEDILL NEWS SERVICE

Seems like Northern Trust Corp.’s (Nasdaq:NTRS) clients are still apparently shaken by the economic climate.