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July 2007 :: Volume 33 | |
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Chicago by the Numbers Read More |
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The Greatest Trading City in the World Da Bears. Da Bulls. Da traders. Chicago is the "greatest trading city in the world," according to a survey in the June/July 2007 issue of Trader Monthly magazine. The magazine, which is aimed at professional traders and hedge fund managers, ranked 50 cities worldwide in an effort to find the ultimate place to live and trade. Read More |
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The Arts and the Economy In our recent Chicago Branding work here at World Business Chicago, we learned that one of the key considerations for top executives when they are contemplating opening or moving an office to a new city is the quality of life offered there. The arts community is a big contributor to that quality of life. Read More |
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Chicagoland Innovation Summit at Navy Pier The 2nd Annual Chicagoland Innovation Summit will be held October 25 at Navy Pier. More than 500 business, government and academic leaders attended last year’s summit. Read More |
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The Greatest Trading City in the World Da Bears. Da Bulls. Da traders. Chicago is the "greatest trading city in the world," according to a survey in the June/July 2007 issue of Trader Monthly magazine. The magazine, which is aimed at professional traders and hedge fund managers, ranked 50 cities worldwide in an effort to find the ultimate place to live and trade. Still, Chicago, once hog butcher to the world and formerly stacker of wheat, beat out the glamorous, the glitzy, the exotic and the tax havens to take the top prize. The magazine said it rated a mixture of work and lifestyle factors, from trading infrastructure, taxes and access to capital to weather, nightlife and time zone. Chicago was praised for its enduring position on the commodities world's front lines. Trading is "in the city's blood," the magazine said. “Chicago is ideal — economic strength and an enhanced quality of life,” Mayor M. Richard Daley told Trader Monthly when informed that his city had secured the coveted top spot on the list. Chicago Merc legend Lewis Borsellino concurs: “Trading is about discipline, perseverance and having a never-say-die attitude,” he says. “That all ties into the work ethic rooted in the Midwest. When Chicago burned down, it was rebuilt bigger and better.” PAGE UP  |
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The Arts and the Economy In our recent Chicago Branding work here at World Business Chicago, we learned that one of the key considerations for top executives when they are contemplating opening or moving an office to a new city is the quality of life offered there. The arts community is a big contributor to that quality of life. Historically, the arts have always played an important role in healthy economic urban environments. It has been shown that the most vibrant cities are those with strong art centers. Recently, two groups, Americans for the Arts and RAND, unveiled findings about Chicago and its Arts community. This article highlights the findings of these two studies. Americans for the Arts – Following is an excerpt from a June 7, 2007 Chicago Tribune article entitled, At Random Grants and Giving: You can put a price tag on impact of Arts in “A new report calculates that Chicago's non-profit arts and cultural industry and its audiences generated $1.09 billion in spending in 2005. That spending is said to have supported 30,134 full-time equivalent jobs, provided household income of $628.7 million, and yielded more than $103 million in revenue to local and state government. "The report released by Americans for the Arts parses its data from the group's national economic-impact study 'Arts and Economic Prosperity,' published last month. "The figures are meant to impress budget writers and lawmakers. The report claims that 'leaders who care about community and economic development can feel good about choosing to invest in the arts.' "The report states that audience members spent an average $38.12 per outing, excluding the price of admission, on such things as transportation, parking, food, souvenirs, baby-sitters and the like. Cook County residents spent an average $31.32; non-Cook residents averaged $46.26. "Non-Cook residents also accounted for 46 percent of the 11.4 million arts attendees in 2005. "Ra Joy, executive director of the Illinois Arts Alliance, said the report shows that the arts are 'a renewable energy source that fuels the Chicago economy' and are a 'cornerstone and foundation of tourism.' ” To read the full report, visit the Arts Alliance online. RAND – Research In The Arts – The non-profit arts currently face an environment that challenges the way the arts have grown and raises the prospect of future consolidation. Cognizant of these problems, RAND was asked to examine the condition of Philadelphia’s art and culture sector and recommend actions to ensure its sustainability. Their multi-year analysis included reviewing eleven metropolitan regions including Chicago. They learned that Chicago faired very well overall. Specifically, Chicago stood out as having both a thriving arts scene and as really valuing the arts as a key driver of economic development. The city’s strengths included a solid revenue stream both in terms of ticket/admissions and private donations, strong leadership particularly with the city being tied into the arts with the Department of Cultural Affairs, and unusually effective collaboration of the business community with the city organizations and the foreign consulates. The main concern (which wasn’t that different from some other cities) is Chicago’s long term viability of the arts. Among the questions the RAND study raised were: Would it make sense to have a private Arts Alliance with memberships? Is arts education properly integrated into the Chicago Public School system? Although the Department of Cultural Affairs does wonderful things for the city, does it make sense to address Art issues more regionally? For a copy of this report entitled “Arts and Culture in the Metropolis: Strategies for Sustainability” visit RAND online. PAGE UP |
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Chicagoland Innovation Summit at Navy Pier The 2nd Annual Chicagoland Innovation Summit will be held October 25 at Navy Pier. More than 500 business, government and academic leaders attended last year’s summit. “Our ultimate goal is to make Chicagoland the number one knowledge economy in the Launched in October 2006, Innovate Now is a major three-state initiative of business, academic and government leaders from Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin to spur innovation and enhance economic growth throughout Chicago and the Midwest. The Innovation Summit is part of Chicagoland Innovation Week, which will also include activities by Microsoft, a forum focused on high performance computing access and capabilities as well as the Chicago Innovation Awards sponsored by the Chicago Sun-Times and Kuczmarksi & Associates. Microsoft Corporation has signed on as the founding sponsor for 2007 and 2008 and will showcase many of its new technologies and products at the Summit. The Summit is actively looking for additional sponsors at a variety of sponsorship levels from $5,000 to $75,000. Last year’s sponsors included American Airlines, Argonne National Laboratory, The Boeing Company, CDW Corp., IBM, Mesirow Financial, Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co., as well as Microsoft. This year’s day-long conference will once again include both keynote addresses and panel discussions by leading local and national CEOs and innovation leaders, as well as breakout sessions and the opportunity to network and hear how other companies are embracing innovation. “Our inaugural summit was a huge success, and we are confident we will again exceed expectations this year,” said Pressl. “Microsoft’s commitment to Innovate Now! is a great step in moving Chicagoland closer to our goal of being as well as being recognized as a global center for innovation.” The Summit Web site, www.innovatenow.us, will be launched in August. Those interested can get more information and register for the conference. If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities contact Lance Pressl at the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Foundation at lpressl@chicagolandchamber.org. PAGE UP |
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World Business Chicago 177 N. State Street, Suite 500 Chicago, Illinois 60601 www.worldbusinesschicago.com |
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