Chicago, IL News

About Chicago, IL

Chicago has the third largest gross metropolitan product in the nation — approximately $442 billion according to 2007 estimates. The city has also been rated as having the most balanced economy in the United States, due to its high level of diversification.

Chicago was named the fourth most important business center in the world in the MasterCard Worldwide Centers of Commerce Index. Additionally, the Chicago metropolitan area recorded the greatest number of new or expanded corporate facilities in the United States for six of the past seven years. In 2006, Chicago placed 10th on the UBS list of the world's richest cities.

Chicago is a major financial center with the second largest central business district in the U.S. The city is the headquarters of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (the Seventh District of the Federal Reserve).

The city is also home to three major financial and futures exchanges, including the Chicago Stock Exchange, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (the "Merc"), which includes the former Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT).

Perhaps due to the influence of the Chicago school of economics, the city also has markets trading unusual contracts such as emissions (on the Chicago Climate Exchange) and equity style indices (on the US Futures Exchange).

In addition to the exchanges, Chicago and the surrounding areas house many major brokerage firms and insurance companies, such as Allstate and Zurich North America.

The city and its surrounding metropolitan area are home to the second largest labor pool in the United States with approximately 4.25 million workers. Chicago has the largest high-technology and information-technology industry employment in the United States.

Chicago is also a major convention destination. The city's main convention center is McCormick Place. With its four interconnected buildings, it is the third largest convention center in the world.

Chicago also ranks third in the U.S. (behind Las Vegas and Orlando) in number of conventions hosted annually. In addition, Chicago is home to eleven Fortune 500 companies, while the metropolitan area hosts an additional 21 Fortune 500 companies.

The state of Illinois is home to 66 Fortune 1000 companies. Chicago also hosts 12 Fortune Global 500 companies and 17 Financial Times 500 companies. The city claims one Dow 30 company as well: aerospace giant Boeing, which moved its headquarters from Seattle to the Chicago Loop in 2001.

Other Major Cities:

• New York
• Los Angeles
• Houston
• Phoenix
• Philadelphia
• San Antonio
• San Diego
• Dallas
• San Jose
• Detroit
• Jacksonville
• Washington DC
• Miami
• Atlanta
• San Franciso
• Boston