Wisconsin Banking Update
Providing banking news in Wisconsin that Wisconsin Bankers can use. Keep on top of all the banking issues that are affecting Wisconsin in one place. If you would like to receive these updates by email please subscribe by entering your email address on the right. There is no cost and no obligation.
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Economic Forum Generates High Hopes
Posted on December 28th, 2010 No comments“I couldn’t think of a better way to end a recent workweek than sitting in on First Business Bank’s economic forum. … In a nutshell, any of the more than 100 people who attended the session likely left believing regional executives are feeling good about the economy and have even higher hopes for the New Year,” wrote a columnist for the Appleton Post Crescent. -
Businesses Not Meeting Expectations
Posted on December 15th, 2010 No commentsThe First Business Economic Survey of Milwaukee and Waukesha Counties, sponsored by First Business Bank and Carroll University and conducted by the A.C. Nielsen Center for Marketing Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business, showed that 48 percent of businesses did not meet self-imposed expectations for 2010. Read more in The Daily Reporter. -
‘Wisconsin Prosperity Strategy’ Introduced
Posted on December 14th, 2010 No comments“Be Bold: The Wisconsin Prosperity Strategy,” a new roadmap for state economic development, has been released to Governor-elect Scott Walker. Officials from the University of Wisconsin System, Competitive Wisconsin Inc., the Wisconsin Technology Council, the Wisconsin Way and the Wisconsin Higher Education Business Roundtable compiled the list. It includes creating a $1 billion Wisconsin Prosperity Fund for tech start-ups and restoring Wisconsin’s capital gains exemption to 60 percent. Read more in the Small Business Times. -
Dane County Businesses: Economy Improving
Posted on December 9th, 2010 No commentsThe 2010 First Business Economic Survey shows positive numbers for the economy in Dane County. Statistics show that while the business climate is improving, it still has not fully recovered from the economic downturn. In the 2010 survey, 42 percent of businesses reported increasing revenue over the previous year, compared with only 28 percent in the 2009 survey, according to Channel3000.com. -
Editorial: TARP, and the Stimulus, Worked
Posted on October 8th, 2010 No commentsOshkosh businessman and Senate candidate Ron Johnson “said TARP was a mistake and [Sen. Russ] Feingold voted against it. We disagree with both. It appears that TARP also worked. Financial collapse — perhaps another depression — was averted, automakers are still making cars and employing Americans and all but $50 billion to $70 billion of the $700 billion to save the economy has been repaid,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote in an editorial. -
Double-Dip Recession Threat Wanes
Posted on September 14th, 2010 No commentsBruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc., says that the threat of a double-dip recession is receding. Bittles predicted that the stock market will be strained with uncertainties over the next round of quarterly earning reports and the November elections. However, he said, once those uncertainties are resolved, the market may be poised for a strong rally in November and December, the Small Business Times of Milwaukee reported.
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Study: Wisconsin Losing Economic Ground
Posted on August 21st, 2010 No comments“Wisconsin has lost ground against the national average in key indicators such as per capita income, new jobs created and business creation. Over the past decade, we rank 44th in per capita income growth,” write Mike Knetter and Linda Salchenberger, deans of the business schools of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Marquette University, respectively. Read more about their Wisconsin Competitiveness Study and their ideas in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
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Small Biz Owners Expect Rebound in 2011
Posted on July 29th, 2010 No commentsAn annual survey by U.S. Bank found that 86 percent of Milwaukee-area small business owners believe the U.S. economy is still in a recession, compared with 89 percent of small-business owners nationwide. Just more than half of local business owners expect to see an improvement in sales in 2011. Read more in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. -
‘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.