Lenders not required to take part in Housing Rescue bill
Sandra Guy: Chicagoans desperate to save their homes will need luck to get help from the Housing Rescue bill that the U.S. House passed Wednesday and President Bush is expected to sign, experts say. "Lenders are not required to participate, so any help would be on a case-by-case basis," said Gail Parson, foreclosure-prevention campaign director for the Chicago-based National Training and Information Center.

Deals abound as it's game over for Gamer's Paradise
Sandra Guy: Anyone looking for a bargain chess set, Scrabble game or Yu-Gi-Oh! cards can find them at a going-out-of-business sale for 29-year-old Chicago retailer Gamer's Paradise. Gamer's Paradise, once a 13-store chain here founded by Philip Schwartzer, has been felled by videogames and the Internet.

Traders get up to speed
Sandra Guy: Options traders and market makers thrive on a fast-paced, even glamorous image. It turns out they do their work on fuddy-duddy computer systems. Three alumni of the Illinois Institute of Technology -- one from Jordan, another from Romania and the third from Cyprus -- are finding success in developing a new kind of software to improve the process.

Making quick work of data
Sandra Guy: A Chicago-area family has found a way to put a new spin on the browser business. The Williams brothers -- Aaron, Ben, David and Nate -- grew up in Elmhurst, along with their high-school friend Ken Kaczmarek, when the city was open farm country. "Roosevelt Road and York Road were wide open field," Nate said, recalling that his grandfather moved there because he wanted farmland on which to run his hunting dogs. Nate credits his father, Lewis Williams, with sparking his and his brothers' interest in computers.

Steve & Barry's files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Steve & Barry’s, the retailer known for cheap sneakers and celebrity-endorsed clothes, filed for bankruptcy protection, fired 172 employees and started closing offices on Wednesday after running into a financial pinch. Co-founders Steve Shore and Barry Prevor blamed slower sales and high fuel and materials costs for pinching the retailer’s already-thin profit margins.

Steve & Barry's files for Ch. 11 bankruptcy
Steve & Barry’s, the retailer known for cheap sneakers and celebrity-endorsed clothes, filed for bankruptcy protection, fired 172 employees and started closing offices on Wednesday after running into a financial pinch.

IU t-shirt entrepreneurs feel stiffed by Steve & Barry's
Sandra Guy: Two friends at Indiana University whose company sold Hoosier basketball T-shirts to retailer Steve & Barry's say they are disappointed and strained financially after the retailer allegedly stiffed them for $12,300. Steve & Barry's is reportedly seeking $30 million in emergency financing to keep from filing for bankruptcy or from liquidating.

Retailer a perfect fit for Sears, Kmart?

Could Sears Holdings Corp. lure shoppers to its Sears and Kmart stores with Steve & Barry's low-priced celebrity-sponsored clothes?

Legoland throws block party
The first indoor Legoland Discovery Center in America, featuring a Lego factory, 4-D Lego movie and a model workshop, will open at noon July 25 at the Streets of Woodfield shopping center across the street from Woodfield Mall. The 30,000-square-foot center, designed for families with children ages 2 to 12, is modeled after a Lego world in Berlin, Germany, that attracted 500,000 visitors in its first year last year. Adrian Jones, U.S. general manager for the U.K.-based center operator Merlin Entertainment, said Schaumburg was picked for Legoland's U.S. debut because of its access to highways.

She saves $35,000 a year
Sandra Guy: Marsha Flood learned to squeeze every penny after she decided to stay home to raise three children. Flood, 57, of Geneva,made do on half of the family's previous income, survived her husband's year-long layoff and ended up cutting the family's expenses by $35,000 a year while maintaining a middle-class lifestyle.

Chicagoans now paying nation's highest sales tax
Sandra Guy: If you think you're paying more sales tax today in Cook County, you are. The sales tax rate jumps 1 percent today, thanks to a Cook County Board vote, giving Chicago the dubious distinction of having the highest municipal sales tax rate in the nation. The County Board adopted the latest increase to pay for a hole in the budget.

Webinars offer bang for buck
Sandra Guy: Webinars are proving fruitful business tools, but not for sales pitches, two Chicago-area enterprises have discovered. CVM Solutions, an Oakbrook Terrace-based company that helps businesses improve their procurement processes and hire minority- and women-owned suppliers, started hosting webinars in order to become a "thought leader" in the supply management market.

Expect gas to hit, surpass $5 a gallon
Sandra Guy: As oil hit $140 a barrel for the first time ever Thursday, analysts say people in markets such as Chicago could pay more than $5 a gallon for gasoline in the near future. "Given the current economy, we could be looking at the national average price of gasoline at upwards of $4.60 to $4.90 a gallon, and people in some markets will pay well over $5 a gallon," said Stephen Schork, an oil industry analyst and editor of the Schork Report.

Rogers heading to Allstate social- networking job

Desiree Rogers is leaving the Peoples Gas utility for a new job as president of social networking for Allstate Financial, the Northbrook-based insurance firm announced Thursday.