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.

Derivatives exchange behemoth CME Group Inc. could face a federal antitrust probe if it does not accept trades from startup futures exchange ELX Futures LP, an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., said Thursday.

The Producer Price Index, or wholesale prices, rose at a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.4 percent in January, mainly due to a rise in energy costs, pharmaceutical costs and light trucks, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.

Given all the contention with the Google vs. China war, there’s a lot to be lost: Google can lose an estimated $300 million to $600 million if it pulls out of the country, China’s image can be further tarnished on the human-rights front. At least one company will benefit tremendously from this conflict, and it is the search-engine giant in China: Baidu Inc.

The horse racing industry in Illinois is struggling to keep up with other states.

Like most other industries across the country, gambling took a big hit during the recession.  However, there are signs it is on the way back. 

Brazil possesses one of the highest proportions of private sector universities in both Latin America and the world, according to the World Bank.
As the middle class grows and  GDP rises, the demand for higher education is going to continue to grow in Brazil and other emerging markets around the world.