CHICAGO | Economic & Business Development

[chicubs111]

Gives a little insight about Google and there decision which should come very soon...

Where does Chicago stand in the big tech derby?


"Insiders say luring something big from Google, which already has major operations in the city, probably is the best bet. But the company has been awfully quiet about exactly what it's planning, and it could end up distributing the prize among various cities.

Prognosis: good. Timing: soon, quite possibly this spring."

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...ple-facilities

[the urban politician]

This is less about jobs and more about bragging rights--Chicago's mightiest bourse continues to expand its reach, now finally getting a major foothold in Europe

[left of center]

I remember back before CME bought CBOT, both Chicago exchanges were considered acquisition targets. We were very close to having both exchanges bought out by out of town/country interests. CME in particular was being eyed by Deutsche Bourse, IIRC. Thankfully the stars aligned, the CME board fought off the Krauts and ended up buying CBOT, keeping both organizations firmly in Chicago and cementing Chicago's position as a major financial center, instead of fading to a backwater.

Glad to see the CME is still on top of its game and not resting on its laurels.

[marothisu]

Yeah I doubt this is going to bring any jobs to Chicago (if so, then not more than a handful) though I'm sure there will be more business trips within CME between London and Chicago now. Anyway yeah it's totally about expanding business and bragging rights. I'm OK with that. CME Group continues to get more powerful which is cool.

And yes, I'd love to see mass jobs but in the grand scheme of any metro area, there's a lot of different forms of job growth/creation and business growth type of news.

[IrishIllini]

Too bad on the jobs. I'll gladly take the bragging rights.

[left of center]

NYSE in talks to buy Chicago Stock Exchange
Source: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...stock-exchange

The Chicago Stock Exchange may have failed in its effort to sell itself to Chinese investors, but there's a potential buyer closer to home: the New York Stock Exchange.

NYSE is in talks to buy the Chicago Stock Exchange for $70 million, according to people familiar with the situation, the Wall Street Journal reported. A spokesman for the Chicago Stock Exchange, owned by Chicago-based CHX Holdings, declined to comment.

The report said negotiations on a deal could still collapse. If the report is accurate, that bid would easily eclipse the $27 million bid over the past two years by the North American Casin Holdings investment group, which ditched the effort this month when it couldn't overcome Securities and Exchange Commission opposition to Chinese investors taking part in the deal.

[left of center]

^ This. Anytime someone accuses me of being an Amazon worshiper/fanboy (which I don't believe myself to be, but I could see why others might objectively come to that conclusion) simply because I get excited at the possibility of HQ2 coming to Chicago, I would like to reference this post.

Chicago doesn't *need* Amazon, but Amazon will help propel Chicago to where the city *needs* to go, faster than it otherwise would on its own.

Plain and simple.

[the urban politician]

You guys are getting a bit carried away. The point of that article isn't to state that we don't want Amazon. It's to attest to the growing strength of Chicago's VC/tech industry and talent pool.

It's an appreciation of Chicago's virtues in a way that too many national and locals fail to do. Chicago is a huge, urban, affordable city that has excellent Universities and several other hard to replicate features that's simply going about its business. It has faced some demographic headwinds of late, but even that, when the book is opened, reveals hidden treasures (less people but richer and more educated--and happening fast!). It's a story of a city that looks like it needs a huge infusion of jobs or it's doomed, but actually to people in the know, that's not really the case!

I think it's a great read.

[marothisu]

^ I understand exactly what the article is saying and if you've remembered my posts, I totally agree with the CEO here as that's what I've been stating for numerous months now. At the same time though, there's a difference in saying "I don't want Amazon here because we will be fine without them" and "We'll be fine without Amazon, but it certainly won't hurt." Yes, Chicago is going to be fine with or without Amazon, but Chicago with Amazon is going to propel it much further faster than without it - EASILY.

Personally, if Amazon doesn't pick Chicago I wouldn't be concerned or sad about it but if they did pick Chicago then damn ..it would be the start of a potentially fun ride. Also, as you are a real estate investor (I think), I would think that it would be of interest to you.

Also, the amount of startups and home grown companies would easily kick into high gear probably a year later. When you have thousands of workers coming in for something like this, you bet your ass that there will be numerous who leave to start their own companies. Many of which possibly wouldn't have started if those people would have never been lured to Chicago in the first place and been set up around whomever. There's a reason why areas like Boston, Seattle, etc have so much of this at the end of the day - a lot of people were lured by large companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Nintendo, etc and ultimately formed their own stuff. If not for those companies luring them there, they could have formed a company elsewhere.

[the urban politician]

Obviously I'd be thrilled if Amazon chose Chicago. But I'm just prepared for it not happening.

Hence I don't put a lot of stock in the whole thing.

[marothisu]

I don't think you should put any stock into it. Unless you have a ton of money, it's not like you should go out and buy speculative property somewhere solely based on it. However, I do believe that Chicago does have a legit top 6 chance at this point so we'll see what happens. No matter what the outcome, it's nothing to be sad about. If they don't pick Chicago then it's not a big deal IMO. The fact that Chicago made it to the top 20 but other large metro areas that are doing more than just OK economically (i.e. Houston, Minneapolis, etc) did not is actually fairly positive news for Chicago.

[the urban politician]

The reason I'm so irritated by the Amazon HQ2 thing is kind of described here:

http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/28/tech...hq2/index.html

[VKChaz]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

The reason I'm so irritated by the Amazon HQ2 thing is kind of described here:

http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/28/tech...hq2/index.html

In that same interview, Cook indicated he had no problem with cities and states competing for these jobs. Companies aren't turning down handouts.

Though I think there are all kinds of problems with how communities now have to compete to attract (buy?) jobs and would agree Amazon probably created work for too many cities (perhaps it can be argued some of that exercise is useful for them), I can see value to the more transparent process versus whatever secretive dealing Apple is engaged in. At least the public is getting a lesson in how companies make decisions and what communities may pay. And some interesting discussion is taking place about the merits of communities taking on so many jobs, effects on costs, housing, infrastructure, etc. As well as the merits of acquiring jobs vs. organic job growth. I think it is good to have the public in on the conversation.

[marothisu]

^ Oh yeah. I don't think Amazon is "innocent" in all of this. But the thing is that they didn't really tell these governments what they want, I don't think, in the form of breaks. At the same time, they didn't say directly "this is too ridiculous." Though I think they will have some morals when it comes to this. A multi billionaire told them that if they built in Irvine, CA then he would fund their entire construction - they still declined even though that offer is worth more than most governments are offering in the form of tax breaks.

[the urban politician]

Some more:

http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/29/inve...ebt/index.html

[Justin_Chicago]

U of C startup that targets migraines gets seed money

A University of Chicago researcher who has developed a new treatment for migraines has raised $750,000 for his startup.

Seurat Therapeutics treats migraines with a nasal spray of an insulin-like hormone called Growth Factor 1. The treatment is based on research by Dr. Richard Kraig, a neurologist. The company is headed by Yuan Zhang, who received her doctorate in molecular medicine from U of C.

Investors include Scott Meadow, who teaches entrepreneurship at Booth; Dr. Martin Sanders, a serial biotech entrepreneur who chairs Seurat's board; Sharon Lew, who frequently co-invests with Sanders and is Seurat's chief financial officer, and the Polsky Innovation Fund.

The company will use the money to progress toward human clinical trials. The drug, when tested in rats, has stopped the underlying cause of migraines. Seurat represents part of a broader effort by U of C, begun several years ago, to help staff and students at the university to start companies.

Article: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...s-seed-funding

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Justin_Chicago

U of C startup that targets migraines gets seed money

A University of Chicago researcher who has developed a new treatment for migraines has raised $750,000 for his startup.

Seurat Therapeutics treats migraines with a nasal spray of an insulin-like hormone called Growth Factor 1. The treatment is based on research by Dr. Richard Kraig, a neurologist. The company is headed by Yuan Zhang, who received her doctorate in molecular medicine from U of C.
...
Article: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...s-seed-funding

Is it good for people dissatisfied with the size of their nose, too?

Originally Posted by marothisu

...
Also, the amount of startups and home grown companies would easily kick into high gear probably a year later. When you have thousands of workers coming in for something like this, you bet your ass that there will be numerous who leave to start their own companies. Many of which possibly wouldn't have started if those people would have never been lured to Chicago in the first place and been set up around whomever. There's a reason why areas like Boston, Seattle, etc have so much of this at the end of the day - a lot of people were lured by large companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Nintendo, etc and ultimately formed their own stuff. If not for those companies luring them there, they could have formed a company elsewhere.

I agree, the impact of churn on startups would be positive. I think the heaviest impact would start about 3-5 years after Amazon passed 10,000 jobs here. Their vest schedule is 4 years, so most people they hire here will likely not leave for that time and I'd guess they'll create some sort of 4-year "golden handcuff" for anyone they choose to move here, and I think 10,000 is about the number where we'd see a significant increase in people with business ideas.

[the urban politician]

The key point in this article is that Sprout Social is doubling its space to 128k sf:

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/reale...-sprout-social

[left of center]

Another article about ICE (owner of the NYSE) buying the CSX. An interesting tidbit at the bottom of the article, in bold:

Source: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...stock-exchange

A higher price offered by NYSE might also be justified because buying a stock exchange license is faster than attaining government approval for a new one, Herron said. The premium could also help fend off rival offers.

Also, the Bitcoin craze has driven interest in acquiring exchange licenses that could be potentially converted into trading of cryptocurrencies. The trend has sparked entrepreneurial initiatives, especially among Chicago's experienced derivatives traders and their firms.

This is all entirely speculation t this point, but it is interesting to consider. The CSX accounts for half of one percent of all stocks traded in the US (and this is down from around 2% from a decade before), so the CSX isn't a valuable acquisition based on volume or market share. The exchange license is what was paid for here, and the possibility of turning it into a platform for trading cryptos. Chicago already has a head start on this, with the CME and CBOE trading crypto futures, thus there would already be a labor pool of experienced traders that are familiar with the product.

Interesting to see where this goes. Whatever happens, hopefully the exchange remains in Chicago.

[Tom In Chicago]

[MODERATOR NOTE] Cleaned up all the politics/taxes/whatever posts and moved them here:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=213683

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