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‘Credit Vise’ Affects Milwaukee-Area Companies
Posted on July 19th, 2010 No commentsTwo Milwaukee-based companies “are among many caught in a credit vise that continues to squeeze small businesses that use bank loans to fund everything from machinery purchases to building expansions.” But Rose Oswald Poels of the Wisconsin Bankers Association said bank regulators aren’t leaving banks much leeway. Read the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story. -
WBA Economic Survey Results Released
Posted on July 12th, 2010 No commentsIn a semiannual poll of bank chief executives by the Wisconsin Bankers Association, 56 percent believe that state’s economy hit bottom and will begin to improve. However, 44 percent still think the economy is weakening. The majority – 96 percent – rated the current state economic conditions as fair or poor. Read more in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Small Business Times of Milwaukee. -
Wis. Foreclosure Filings Declining So Far in 2010
Posted on July 6th, 2010 No commentsForeclosure filings dropped more than 13 percent in Wisconsin in June and now are running slightly below the total in the first half of last year, but it’s too soon to call it the beginning of a turnaround until the job situation improves, analysts said in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. -
Economist: Wis. Unemployment to Edge Higher
Posted on July 6th, 2010 No commentsBruce Bittles, chief investment strategist with Milwaukee-based Robert W. Baird, said unemployment is likely to creep close to 10 percent by the end of 2010, and “home prices could come under pressure again” in the next six months. Read the Small Business Times story. -
Study: Americans More Conservative With Money
Posted on June 16th, 2010 No commentsAmericans appear to believe the era of fast financial growth is over and have become more conservative about managing their money, a study by Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. shows. Read more in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
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Financial System Entering ‘Vulnerable’ Period
Posted on June 13th, 2010 No commentsLeading economic indicators “are telling a discomforting story,” writes columnist Tom Saler in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “On balance, these indicators suggest that the world financial system is entering a bumpy and vulnerable period,” he writes.
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Economist: ‘Slow Recovery Out of Large Hole’
Posted on June 4th, 2010 No commentsEven as the recession recedes, most parts of the country are still seeing a “slow recovery out of a large hole,” said David Altig, senior vice president and director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, at a University of Wisconsin-Madison conference. Read the Wisconsin Journal Sentinel article.
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Economist: Jobs Just ‘Stimulus Sugar High’
Posted on May 21st, 2010 No commentsWisconsin added over 16,000 jobs last month – the largest one-month increase since 1996. But Wells Fargo Bank economist Brian Jacobson of Milwaukee calls it a “stimulus sugar high,” since most of those non-permanent jobs were created with federal stimulus money, WTAQ reported.
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Economist: Recovery to Be Slower in Wisconsin
Posted on May 14th, 2010 No commentsThe foundation of the economy looks sound right now, especially after two months of job gains, said Craig Thomas, senior economist for Pittsburgh-based PNC Bank, speaking to local businesspeople in Milwaukee. The recovery in Wisconsin will come at a slower pace than the U.S. generally, he said. Read the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story.
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Many Encouraging Signs Indicate Recovery
Posted on April 16th, 2010 No comments“Make no mistake, we are recovering. Most of the latest macro-economic numbers are encouraging,” according to the Small Business Times of Milwaukee in an analysis of 10 business sectors that are showing improvement.