Recent content from Kavita Kumar
U.S. Bancorp will maintain space in downtown Mpls. towers
The Minneapolis banking giant also released more than $1 billion in bad-loan reserves, lifting its profit, as economy improves.
Construction hiring adds speed to Minnesota's jobs comeback
The unemployment rate fell to 4.2% in March from 4.4% a month earlier.
Ameriprise buys BMO's European asset management business for $845M
The deal boosts Ameriprise's business by about 10%, measured by assets under management.
With Twins game, downtown businesses are ready for the most action in a year
Restaurants and bars are happy to see sports fans again.
Target pledges to spend $2B on products, services from Black-owned businesses
The retailer's commitment includes carrying 500 Black-owned brands by 2025.
Pandemic relief has worked fairly well but missed some people, Minneapolis Fed researchers say
Relief reached many, but economists say it also missed marginalized populations.
Wells Fargo, big downtown employer, plans September return to the office
More and more, it looks like the time around Labor Day won't just be about the return to school.
JPMorgan, Goldman on verge of owning portion of Mall of America
Megamall owner Triple Five is close to a debt restructuring that gives a minority stake in MOA to big banks, report says.
Turning point in Minnesota's recovery as people find jobs
Unemployment rate falls to 4.3% and is shaped by people returning to work.
Sen. Tina Smith, retirees tout help for troubled pensions that was added to virus relief law
The Central States Pension Fund is one of those helped by the $86 billion provision.
White Earth Reservation, Shooting Star Casino raise minimum wage to $16 an hour
The largest tribal nation in the state is raising wages to compete with nearby manufacturers and retailers.
Abbot Downing, Wells Fargo's boutique business for the super rich, is being rebranded
The business, started in Minneapolis, will become part of Wells Fargo Private Bank.
Minneapolis City Council passes rule for hotels, event centers to recall laid-off workers
City requires hospitality firms to give experienced staffers first chance at their old jobs.
Target to give up one-third of its office space in downtown Mpls.
The largest employer in downtown Minneapolis doesn't need as much space because it will allow workers to work from home more often.
Minnesota in January saw bounceback of jobs that it lost in December
The state's unemployment rate fell slightly to 4.5% in the first month of the year.
Target's new food brand for desserts is all about indulging
Called 'Favorite Day,' the brand for desserts, breads and other treats continues a makeover of Target's private labels.
Why a Minnesota entrepreneur walked away from a "Shark Tank" offer
Beth Fynbo says she wasn't ready to start licensing her baby products to other companies.
Amusement operators sue Walz over curfew, other restrictions on bars
The lawsuit notes that other establishments, such as retail stores, aren't subject to the same constraints.
Peter Leach, potter and founder of Northern Clay Center, dies at 87
Peter Leach didn't want his creations hung up on somebody's wall or sitting idle in a bookcase. They were functional and meant to be used."These…
Hospitality workers on edge, wondering if jobs will come back
For much of the last year, Claudia Sandoval worried she might lose her house.In the early days of the pandemic, when travel and group events…
U.S. Bancorp rolls out a plan to fight racial wealth gap
Much of the latest initiative at U.S. Bank is specifically aimed at Black customers and employees.
![Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis ] Shari L. Gross • shari.gross@startribune.com](https://chorus.stimg.co/22278599/ows_8bbd3701_5162_4b08_a8e6_2facf83c6df5.jpg?h=120&w=180&fit=crop&bg=999&crop=faces)
For Kashkari, diversity of views and voices deepens reliability of Fed's decisions
Minneapolis Fed chief begins new stint with an expansive view of how information on the economy should be gathered.
Jack Grundhofer, the banker who built U.S. Bancorp in the 1990s, has died
Grundhofer engineered dozens of deals but is also remembered in the Twin Cities as the victim of a kidnapping that was never solved.
Minnesota lost nearly 50,000 jobs in December, the second straight month of job losses
The data revealed the toll of government-ordered closure of restaurants and other businesses to fight COVID-19.
U.S. Bancorp waits to free up reserves amid continued uncertainty
Many of the nation's largest banks have begun releasing money they put aside last year as recession hit. But U.S. Bank execs say they'll take a bit more time.
![Chris Brooks, left, and Paul Campbell, co-founders and general partners of Brown Venture Group met in Golden Thyme Coffee in St. Paul. ] GLEN](https://chorus.stimg.co/22239470/ows_b45614f1_efb4_4054_ad84_4ff71ddacc89.jpg?h=120&w=180&fit=crop&bg=999&crop=faces)
Minneapolis-based venture-capital firm for founders of color aims to raise $50 million
Brown Venture Group is the first in Minn. to focus on Black, Latino and Indigenous entrepreneurs.
![Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari, shown in a 2020 file photo. ] GLEN STUBBE • glen.stubbe@startribune.com](https://chorus.stimg.co/22234088/ows_5c4891ab_d7b7_44f7_9a8e_41d9bd1ca7c3.jpg?h=120&w=180&fit=crop&bg=999&crop=faces)
Kashkari on track for another five years as leader of Minneapolis Fed
Kashkari's reappointment is expected to be formalized soon, and North Dakota's governor congratulated him at an event Wednesday.
Best Buy suspends donations to congressional members who voted against certifying election
Other Minnesota companies examining policies in light of insurrection.
As federal stimulus rolls out, Minnesota businesses learning specifics on state aid
The federal and state aid packages will provide assistance to businesses, workers affected by pandemic.
Minnesota's economic recovery stalls even as unemployment rate drops
After two months of people leaving the Minnesota workforce, about 20,000 rejoined in November, the state jobs agency found.
Minnesota's TCF will merge with Ohio bank, give up its name
The name of the U of M's football stadium will change, along with bank branches.
Life has turned into a high-wire act for new 'long-term unemployed' in Minn.
Instead of busy days overseeing hotel catering and room service, Cindy Tlaiye has settled into a more solitary, frustrating routine in recent months.Every morning, she…
Women of color in Minnesota face higher risks, layoffs during pandemic, University of Minnesota report finds
Job losses and health risks hit women of color hardest and the economic effects could linger, a new study from the U finds.
Minnesota's exports fell 14% in third quarter, according to DEED report
The state's exports decline was slightly worse than the U.S. as a whole in the period.
New jobless claims in Minnesota spike amid renewed restrictions
The last two weeks of November saw 50,000 new or reactivated claims, the most since June, as restaurants and other businesses had to curtail indoor service.
Kashkari calls Yellen an 'inspired' pick for Treasury, urges more economic aid from Washington now
Federal Reserve Bank's Minneapolis leader has been taking bolder stances in the year of the pandemic.
40 more COVID-19 deaths, 7,219 new cases in Minnesota
Newly confirmed deaths included 22 in congregate care settings.
Minnesota retailers prepare for Black Friday with a bit of gray
Stores have spread out their holiday discounts to reduce crowds.
Minnesota prepares for more jobless claims as new restrictions go into place
Unemployment fell to 4.6% in October, but new pandemic restrictions likely to raise rate.
![Trustees of the owner of Bremer Bank can stay in place but with new restrictions until a trial on the future of the bank next year. ] Aaron Lavinsky �](https://stmedia.stimg.co/ows_8afca4c3-1b53-4367-ad4f-ef76d2b4ba16.jpg?h=120&w=180&fit=crop&bg=999&crop=faces)
Judge allows Bremer trustees to keep jobs, but with limits
Until a final hearing, likely next year, a judge added safeguards to protect the trust's assets.
The last of its kind, the Minneapolis Grain Exchange is being sold
New owner plans to keep downtown location and red spring wheat contract.
In 'COVID paradox,' some employers with jobs to fill can't find workers
Economics textbooks say employers should find it easier to hire workers in a downturn. But for Minnesota businesses, that's not the case this time.
TCF's chief executive retires as bank wraps up its merger, move to Detroit
Craig Dahl says integration strategy with Detroit-based Chemical Bank is in good hands.
Rebuilding funds from UnitedHealth begin to flow to Twin Cities businesses
At Seward Pharmacy on Lake Street, the funds will help finish a rebuild after destruction from the May riots.
State jobless rate falls to 6%, mainly from those leaving workforce
Seven months into the pandemic's economic crisis, Minnesota only has half its jobs back and tens of thousands have stopped looking for work.
U.S. Bank to close another 400 branches, or 15% of locations, by early 2021
The branch closures come on top of another 300 in the last year or so.
Minneapolis Fed joins with other regional banks to tackle racism and the economy
The kickoff event Wednesday highlighted a possible heightened role for the Fed.
U.S. Bank rolls out new branch formats for digital age
U.S. Bank's new metro-area branches have been retooled for the digital age.
Minnesota Cup winner pioneers new solution to preserve therapeutic cells
BlueCube Bio came out on top of the state's highest-profile startup competition.
JPMorgan Chase celebrates new community branch, $4 million grant for affordable housing
With its fourth branch in the Twin Cities, the nation's largest bank takes a new approach with a design and services aimed at teaching more people about managing their finances.
Viral video of confrontation in a Minneapolis gym changed lives, perspectives
Black entrepreneurs receive outpouring of support, white man confronting them lost his business.
Luba Perchyshyn, master maker of Ukrainian eggs, dies at 96
She helped keep the tradition alive during an era in which it was suppressed under Soviet rule.
Minnesota hits end of $300 weekly jobless bonus
Minnesota's job recovery sped up a bit last month with the addition of 40,500 jobs.
Minnesota's exports fall $1 billion in second quarter
The 18% drop is less than the decrease for the nation as a whole, which was 30%.
Twin Cities Startup Week going virtual, extended over three weeks
The region's big event for entrepreneurs is adapting to the pandemic.
Minnesota nonprofits plead for more help as hunger crisis surges
More are needing help, especially after the extra unemployment aid ended.
State to begin sending $300 payments to jobless this weekend
The bonus is a replacement for a federal benefit that ran out in July.
Manufacturers continue their march back, though pace slow at Minnesota's factories
The state's factory activity was not quite as robust in August as in July, a Creighton University survey found.
Minnesota signs up for new federal $300 weekly benefit for jobless
The $300 federal payments expected to be short-lived.
Minnesota gets $1.5 million in multistate settlement with Honda over air bags
The faulty air bag inflaters led to a massive auto recall and the multistate $85M settlement.
Minn. officials to decide next week on program for extra $300 in unemployment
Minn. to review federal lost wages program.
Minnesota's job growth slows in July as jobless rate falls to 7.7%
Minnesota's unemployment rate fell to 7.7%, down from 8.6% in June, 9.9% in May.
U.S. Bank's $5 million in grants to Twin Cities includes funds for trauma care
Community leaders asked U.S. Bank to trust them on how to use grants.
New firm hopes to fill hole in Twin Cities startup funding
Well-known figure in the Twin Cities' tech community will take a chance on companies in the earliest stages.
Minnesota's job market coming back slowly as companies move ahead cautiously
Many restrictions on businesses have been lifted, but employers remain uncertain about the direction of the coronavirus pandemic and economy.
Minnesota's manufacturing sector bounces back to growth, but still has ways to go
Job losses rose even as the manufacturing sector regained some needed steam.
Water skier hurt in collision with Hennepin County Water Patrol boat
The water skier, a man, was injured and taken to HCMC in Minneapolis
Ameriprise swings to a loss in Q2
Volatility in the stock market helped to shape results for the financial-services giant.
Laid-off Minnesotans face a financial cliff with end of extra $600 payments
About one-sixth of the state's workforce are among the Americans whose immediate future is tied up in the battle about how to rescue the U.S. economy.
Half of Black workers in Minnesota have lost work during pandemic
More than one-quarter of Black workers were still making weekly unemployment claims last month, compared with 9% of white workers.
Minnesota jobless rate still nearly triple what it was before pandemic
State officials warn that situation could get worse as $600 federal benefit expires.
U.S. Bancorp sets aside another $1.7 billion for coronavirus-related defaults
The move took a significant toll on the bank's bottom line in the second quarter, with its profit falling 62%.
Minnesota's export-heavy manufacturing sector sees slower bounceback than the nation's
Latest survey finds the state is trailing in manufacturing.
Minneapolis Fed finds small businesses take deepest cuts to sales from pandemic shutdowns
Regional economist finds "catastrophic" financial declines in Minnesota, nearby states.
