Bennett Wakenight

Recent Articles

  • The Wintrust Business Lunch 8/14/18: The Royal® Flushometer, “The Great Believers”, & Tattoos in The Workplace

    The market was pretty happy by the time Steve Bertrand started the show, but there’s always something  for Jon Najarian‘s to be talking about. Our very own Lou Manfredini and Jim Allen then joined the show to talk about the overlooked importance of The Royal® Flushometer from Sloan which Lou will talk more about during the upcoming event at the Cubby Bear on August 25th. Rebecca Makkai then switched gears by previewing her new book diving deep into the AIDS crisis […]

  • Which Banks Charge The Most Fees?

    If you’ve ever been charged a monthly fee by your bank for a seemingly insignificant misstep, you know it can be frustrating. Steve Grzanich (Host of The Opening Bell) discussed a study released from Ken Tumin (Founder of DepositsAccounts.com) to sort through which states have the highest bank fees (Florida holding the number one spot) and how the Midwest holds up comparatively.  

  • Associated Bank Market Outlook: 8/14/18

    On August 14th, 2018 Steve Grzanich shares today’s potential market drivers: The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index is released today The Import/Export Price Report is out today along with the Economic Red Book Alta Mesa, AMERI Holdings, Cancer Genetics Inc and other report earnings today

  • The Opening Bell 8/14/18: Your Pay Raise is Being Drowned Out By Inflation

    The economy feels like its in a pretty good spot along with a red hot jobs market. Steve Grzanich sat down with Heather Long (Economics Correspondent at The Washington Post) to sort through what feels like it could be too good to be true to focus on the wage growth that lags behind the rest of the country’s forward progress. Ken Tumin (Founder of DepositsAccounts.com) then joined the program to share the results from a study detailing which banks have […]

  • Wintrust Business Lunch 8/13/18: The Reinvented Phone Charger, Finding a Mortgage in The Shifting Real Estate Times, & A Lethal Cookbook?

    The week is off an running as Steve Bertrand caught up with Jim Dallke to find out what’s going on with the Chicago tech world including the reinvented phone charger and a job fair for the transgender community in the city. Barry Sturner checked in with the latest from the mortgage industry to explain why he sees the real estate market shifting and Randi Shaffer is warning social media users about a potentially lethal cookbook.  

  • The Opening Bell 8/13/18: When A Coffee Shop Interaction Turns Into a Business Venture…

    The fitness world is a fast moving and highly adaptive industry that can kick lame health/workout fads to the curb if they don’t capture a markets attention. Steve Grzanich began this week with the CEO Spotlight detailing the success of how Tracy Roemer & Bonnie Micheli (Co-founders of Shred 415) turned a causal Starbucks interaction into a nation wide fitness franchising business. Revathi Greenwood (Head of Research at Cushman & Wakefield) then took a deep look into the robots that are […]

  • Associated Bank Market Outlook: 8/13/18

    On August 13th, 2018 Steve Grzanich shares today’s potential market drivers: Cisco reports quarterly earnings Equifax holds a shareholder meeting as it still tries to bounce back from their massive security hack Home Depot, Macy’s and Tencent all report earnings tomorrow

  • Robots Inch Closer to Everyday Industries – Specifically Commercial Real Estate

    As driverless cars and automated check outs become the norm, studies will look back at which industries were impacted the most and how it was done. As it continues to develop, Steve Grzanich sat down with Revathi Greenwood (Head of Research at Cushman & Wakefield) to sort through the kinds of technologies that will be impacting the commercial real estate industry.  

  • Wintrust Business Lunch 8/10/18: Drone Deliveries On The Way, Emotional Intelligence, & Slumping Beer Sales

    Why is Steve Bertrand interested in a birthday party in Virginia? Andrea Hanis explained that one particular party was significant because it was the first drone delivery of it’s kind and it could be just the beginning of many. Tom Gimbel shared with listeners about how to express emotional intelligence during and interview, Adam Ducker has the research results of just how many people are flocking to more urban areas, and Kate Taylor is sending out the SOS for the […]

  • The Opening Bell 8/10/18: Long Term Market Health is Still Wall Street’s Focus

    With a number of big money stories this week from Tesla sending a market spike, to FAANG stocks taking a hit the focus is still long term. Steve Grzanich sorted through the details with Paul Nolte (CVP & Sr. Portfolio Manager at Kingsview Asset Management) to explain where Wall Street stands when focusing on rising interest rates. Brian Sumers (Airline Business Reporter at Skift.com) then shared the latest efforts from an academic professional attempting to cure jet lag for international […]