A respected automotive industry publication learned this week that Chrysler’s new managing partner, Italian-based Fiat SpA, plans to build the Fiat 500 at a United States plant, which makes its Belvidere assembly plant a likely candidate. But Erich Merkle, industry analyst and president of Autoconomy.com, said Fiat and Chrysler will have to build more than just the 500.

What will your “pass the ...” phrase be followed with Saturday? When it comes to the Fourth of July main course, it’s most likely one of the big three meats: hamburgers, bratwursts or hot dogs.

All six of the Illinois community banks shut down by regulators Thursday were owned by the Campbell family, whose Campbell Group operated nine banks in Illinois.

State banking regulators closed Rock River Bank on Thursday, making the Oregon-based bank the first one in the Rock River Valley regulators have closed since 1988.

The average home-sale price through June moved up to $122,775, the first time the rolling average price has topped $120,000 since January, as higher-priced homes sold at a better rate in June.

Part of an occasional series profiling the unemployed in the Rock River Valley.

WASHINGTON — Employers cut a larger-than-expected 467,000 jobs in June, driving the unemployment rate up to a 26-year high of 9.5 percent, suggesting that the economy’s road to recovery will be bumpy. The Labor Department report, released today, showed that even as the recession flashes signs of easing, companies likely will want to keep a lid on costs.
 

JOBLESS PROFILES
Mark Swisher (07/02/09)
Deborah Robertson (06/11/09)
 

AP INTERACTIVES
Track county, state, national jobless rates
Video inside: Unemployment rate reaches 9.5 percent
 

OTHER FINANCIAL NEWS TODAY
Stocks decline in early trading
Factory orders rise more than expected
Oil slips to $68 a barrel
Fire-sale prices don't help Chrysler

U.S. sales at Ford and Chrysler last month offered sharply different views on the downtrodden U.S. market for cars and trucks, while General Motors Corp. held its own even though it entered bankruptcy protection.
 

PAST COVERAGE
Special report: Chrysler's bankruptcy
July 1: Star 60 adds Fiat, drops GM
June 29: Fiat 500 might be built in Belvidere
June 23: Belvidere crew officially employed by Fiat
June 10: Fiat closes in on Chrysler's good assets
 

ON THE WEB
Edmunds.com road tests 2010 Fiat 500C convertible
Wikipedia: The Belvidere Chrysler plant
Fiat: The 500C has arrived
 

AP INTERACTIVES
Graphics examine Chrysler, Ford, GM

Three square meals a day keep Rochelle growing. Sara Lee is the latest food company to expand in the Hub City, as the recession sends consumers to their dining rooms instead of to restaurants. The 132,000-square-foot expansion of Sara Lee’s distribution facility here is its second in two years.
 

ELSEWHERE IN ROCHELLE BUSINESS
Work to begin on industrial corridor (05/22/09)
Hospital offers digital mammography (05/02/09)
Food processors grow despite recession (12/24/08)
Former Kraft facility ready for tenant (09/28/08)
Grant drives project, possibly jobs (09/08/08)
Project to link Ill. 38, Intermodal Drive (08/27/08)
Work targets cargo, passenger service (08/20/08)

Turin, Italy-based Fiat SpA has been added to the Register Star’s Star 60 stock index, which tracks publicly traded companies important to the Rock River Valley.
 

PAST COVERAGE
Special report: Chrysler's bankruptcy
June 29: Fiat 500 might be built in Belvidere
June 23: Belvidere crew officially employed by Fiat
June 10: Fiat closes in on Chrysler's good assets
 

ON THE WEB
Edmunds.com road tests 2010 Fiat 500C convertible
Wikipedia: The Belvidere Chrysler plant
Fiat: The 500C has arrived
 

AP INTERACTIVES
Graphics examine Chrysler, Ford, GM

Commercial Mortgage & Finance’s 1,400 creditors will vote soon on whether or not to accept the company’s liquidation plan, now that 50 pages of financial information have been approved by the bankruptcy court.
 

MORE COVERAGE
Special report: Commercial Mortgage & Finance bankruptcy
Mortgage company files liquidation plan (06/05/09)
Mortgage company’s liquidation plan closer (06/03/2009)
Commercial Mortgage gets OK to shut down subsidiary (05/06/2009)
Mortgage company’s liquidation plan taking shape (04/29/2009)
Creditors have until April 8 to file claim against mortgage company (04/03/2009)
Checks still in the mail for some of company’s creditors (03/17/2009)

Two routes at Chicago Rockford International Airport have been suspended through the fall, a traditionally weak time for leisure travel.

Hilander-brand beef products are being recalled because of a potential E. coli contamination.

If you’re traveling during the July 4 weekend, chances are you’ll find a lot of bargains. Most travel costs are down from a year ago, some significantly.

 When we turned our air conditioners on last week to battle the abruptly hot and humid weather, several local businesses turned from calm to hectic mode.