From WisBusiness.com …
— Michael Knetter, the UW-Madison Business School dean, is criticizing Sen. John McCain’s proposed summer gas tax holiday as “political pandering.”
Speaking at a global economics conference at the Fluno Center yesterday, Knetter knocked as flawed McCain’s proposal to suspend the 18.4-cent tax on gasoline (and the 24.4-cent levy on diesel fuel) from Memorial Day until Labor Day.
The Republican senator and presumptive GOP presidential candidate’s plan is also supported New York Sen. Hillary Clinton. Illinois Sen. Barrack Obama, who is battling Clinton for the Democratic nomination, opposes it. Though Knetter was most critical of McCain, he said wasn’t particularly impressed by any of the candidates’ economic plans.
The business school dean spent most of his talk on the nation’s international trade deficit, which he said didn’t greatly alarm him. He also said the nation’s business fundamentals are sound but predicted it may take some time before the country pulls itself out of the current slowdown.
See the full story:
http://www.wisbusiness.com/
Listen to the audio:
http://blogs.wisbusiness.com/audio/2008/080501knetter.mp3
— Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen says the state has settled a lawsuit with three Wisconsin electric utilities for violating state air pollution controls.
The violations relate to the renewal of the permit authorizing the utilities to operate the Columbia Generating Station.
The Wisconsin Power and Light Co. operates the facility it co-owns with Madison Gas and Electric Co. and Wisconsin Public Service Corp.. WPL failed to timely apply for reissuance of the facility’s operating permit, according to the complaint.
The permit expired March 7, and the facility has been operating without one since. The settlement calls for WPL to pay $285,000 in penalties, fees and costs for the violations.
See the release:
http://www.wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=125039
— PSC Chair Dan Ebert is leaving the agency later this month after more than three years on the job.
Gov. Jim Doyle has named Executive Assistant Eric Callisto to replace Ebert effective May 27. Ebert’s last day is May 23.
See the press release:
http://www.wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=125040
— UW System President Kevin Reilly will recommend NorthStar Economics Inc. president David Ward to serve as interim chancellor at UW-Green Bay.
Ward, a UW-GB alumnus, is also a former UW System administrator. He would temporarily replace Bruce Shepard, who was confirmed as the next president of Western Washington University last week.
“David has a unique knowledge of the campus and the local community,” Reilly said in a statement. “He brings an in-depth understanding of the region’s economic needs and the importance of our Growth Agenda for Wisconsin.”
See the press release:
http://www.wisconsin.edu/news/2008/r080501.htm
— Forty percent of Wisconsin residents believe the use of fossil fuels are either extremely or quite problematic, but only 18 percent believe climate change will be extremely problematic, according to the latest Badger Poll.
See the release:
http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/050108_UWSC_POLL.pdf
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WISBUSINESS LUNCHEON: BRANDING EXPERT MARSHA LINDSAY
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WisBusiness.com, The Madison Club and Madison Magazine present “The Madison Business Luncheon” on Monday, May 5, Lindsay, Stone & Briggs CEO Marsha Lindsay.
See a recent profile on Lindsay from Madison Magazine: http://www.madisonmagazine.com/article.php?section_id=918&xstate=view_story&story_id=235830
Sponsored by Xcel Energy
This event is open to the public, and the price for lunch is $19. Call the Madison Club to register at (608) 255-4861. The luncheon starts at 11:45 a.m. and ends at 1 p.m.
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Press Releases
A Weekend of Success for UW-Madison Engineering Teams
Alliant Energy Announces First Quarter 2008 Results
Freedom Hums as Main Engines Complete Successful Testing
From Our Moms to Yours: The Taste of Home Winning Recipes Cookbook
Governor Doyle Thanks Public Service Commission Chairperson Dan Ebert for Outstanding Service
Great Wolf Resorts Obtains Construction Loan for Great Wolf Lodge — Concord, N.C.
Manpower Inc. Declares 37 Cent Dividend
Regal Beloit Reports 21% Earnings Per Share Increase
Third Wave Reports First-Quarter Financial Results
Wausau Insurance Sponsors National Playground Safety Institute Program to Encourage Inspector Certification
Wisconsin Toyota Dealers Offer Brewers Fans a Shot at Miller Park’s New Tundra Territory
ZBB Energy Corporation to Present at AeA Micro Cap Financial Conference
For these and more releases visit http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Content=82
TOP STORIES
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Home Depot to close Beaver Dam store, 2 others in state: Home Depot announced Thursday it will shut down 15 “underperforming” stores around the nation, including three in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin locations affected are in Milwaukee, Fond du Lac and Beaver Dam. The closings will cost a total of 1,300 employees their jobs, but the company did not say how many workers will be affected in Wisconsin. The weak housing market gave Home Depot its first annual sales decline and lowered profits by about 24 percent for 2007. The company posted net income of $4.4 billion on $77.3 billion in sales, compared with net income of $5.8 billion on $79 billion in sales in 2006.
http://www.madison.com/tct/business/284310
A.O. Smith stalls in U.S., grows overseas: Company looks to develop water filtration… A.O. Smith Corp., the Milwaukee-based maker of home water heaters, is riding a historic housing boom in China and India even as a housing bust in the United States has hurt its American business. Paul W. Jones, chairman and chief executive, said the company is working to develop new technologies in home water filtration. That’s a sector that experts see as a potential boom market as nations cope with increasingly scarce and polluted water supplies. “That’s the sort of thing that a lot of companies around the world are working on. And we are, too,” Jones said in an interview. Jones said it was possible that water filtration could develop into a division of the company as large as the water heater division.
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=746200
Madison group heads funding for tissue regeneration firm: Tissue Regeneration Systems Inc., a medical device company developing bioactive implants for bone and soft tissue regeneration, on Thursday announced the close of a $2 million round of financing led by Madison-based Venture Investors and joined by the founders of TRS. The company is a spin-out of the universities of Michigan and Wisconsin, where TRS’ core proprietary technologies were developed over the past decade, and from which TRS has an exclusive option to commercialize. TRS currently is developing its first generation products aimed at the $6 billion spine market using its bioresorbable scaffold and bioactive coatings technology platforms.
http://www.madison.com/tct/news/stories/284294
JLG, military demand drive up Oshkosh profits: Oshkosh Corp. said Thursday that its earnings growth for the fiscal second quarter exceeded company estimates largely because of a sharp increase in global sales of specialty access equipment and military truck demand. The Oshkosh-based firm, formerly called Oshkosh Truck, posted net income for the quarter ended March 31 of $72.6 million, or 97 cents per share, a 43 percent increase compared with $50.9 million, or 68 cents per share, for the same period last year. The results topped management’s guidance of earnings in the range of 85 cents to 90 cents per share, but matched the expectations of analysts polled by Thomson First Call.
http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2008/04/28/daily49.html?surround=lfn
PSC chairman steps down, governor appoints assistant to post: The chairman of the state Public Service Commission says he’s going to step down. Dan Ebert says he’ll leave the three-person commission on May 23. Gov. Jim Doyle on Thursday appointed PSC executive assistant Eric Callisto to replace him. Ebert has served as chairman of the commission for 5½ years. Commission spokesman Tim Le Monds says Ebert felt the time was right to leave. He says Ebert hasn’t decided what he’s going to do next. Callisto will take over on May 27. The state Public Service Commission is an independent agency that regulates Wisconsin’s public utilities.
http://www.gazettextra.com/weblogs/latest-news/2008/may/01/psc-chairman-steps-down-governor-appoints-assistan/
Sonic Foundry loss grows: Madison-based digital media company Sonic Foundry on Thursday reported that it lost more money in the second quarter than a year ago despite higher revenues. The company, whose flagship product is its MediaSite Webcasting product, reported a second-quarter net loss of $2.27 million, or 6 cents per share, on revenues of $3.92 million, compared to a year-ago net loss of $1.91 million, or 5 cents per share, on revenues of $3.82 million. Sonic Foundry said its total billings reached $4.5 million, up 9 percent from a year ago, while service revenues totaled $1.7 million, up 88 percent. As previously reported, the company has recently concentrated more of its selling efforts on the education sector and it said it is entering the two strongest seasons for U.S. educational buying.
http://www.madison.com/tct/business/284324
Displaced workers at Nekoosa mill not eligible for benefits:
When John Gethers heard Domtar filed an application for federal Trade Adjustment Assistance, he thought he would receive extra help when his job is eliminated. Gethers, 51, is one of 500 people who will lose their jobs when the Port Edwards mill shuts down in June, but because he works at the Nekoosa mill, he cannot receive the federal assistance. “I’m just rather shocked because it’s one main event,” Gethers said. “They’re shutting down the mill, and I’m being bumped out of my job.” Because the Department of Labor considers the Nekoosa mill “a separate and distinct facility,” workers there do not qualify for the assistance, according to a written statement from Cindy Kiesling, program coordinator for the Wisconsin Labor Education and Training Center.
http://www.marshfieldnewsherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080502/MNH0101/805020724/1980
State responds to GM layoffs: The state begins its response Friday for the autoworkers in Janesville expected to lose their jobs this summer. The State Department of Workforce Development is holding its first meeting of a Rapid Response Team to deal with the layoffs announced at General Motor’s earlier in the week. DWD Secretary Roberta Gassman tells WCLO’s Stan Milam Show several groups will be part of the meeting. Gassman says applying for federal grants will top the agenda. She does offer hope for GM workers, saying they have skills valued by today’s employers. Gassman urges workers expecting to be displaced to take advantage of any programs offered.
http://www.gazettextra.com/weblogs/latest-news/2008/may/02/state-responds-gm-layoffs/
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WISBUSINESS FEATURED COLUMNISTS
– GREGG HOFFMANN: Contributor, WisBusiness.com
– TOM STILL: President, Wisconsin Technology Council
– JENNIFER SERENO: Senior manager, Wood Communications Group
– STEVE JAGLER: Executive editor, Small Business Times
– TOM BURZINSKI: IT executive and consultant
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TECHNOLOGY (back to top)
– TomoTherapy’s latest cancer-treatment machine could be on market in 2012, chairman says
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/biz/284292
BIOTECH (back to top)
– Groundbreaking for Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery is Friday
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/284317
– Conference Explores Renewable Energy Options
http://wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=550&yr=2008
ECONOMY (back to top)
– Procter & Gamble reports profit gain
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080501/GPG03/805010692/1247
– Exxon reports earning $10.9 billion in first quarter, the second-biggest U.S. quarterly profit ever
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/biz/284282
– Report: Public libraries boost economy
http://www.madison.com/tct/news/stories/284323
– Asphalt inflation limits city work
http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080502/WDH0101/805020667/1581/WDHnews
– Good news, bad news and the $3.5 trillion net
http://www.madison.com/tct/business/284287
MANUFACTURING (back to top)
– Pierce files suit over photos
http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080502/APC03/805020521/1028
– ‘A new era at Gehl’
http://www.gmtoday.com/news/local_stories/2008/May_08/05012008_14.asp
– Regal Beloit posts rise in sales, profit
http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2008/04/28/daily51.html?surround=lfn
LABOR (back to top)
– Tramontina expanding cookware production at former Mirro plant
http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2008/04/28/daily57.html?surround=lfn
– Madison-based Physicians Plus noting rewards of letting employees volunteer on company time
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/biz/284288
– More charges exchanged in Woodman’s union dispute
http://www.gazettextra.com/weblogs/latest-news/2008/may/02/more-charges-exchanged-woodmans-union-dispute/
– Few problems finding medical professionals
http://www.gmtoday.com/news/local_stories/2008/May_08/05012008_19.asp
SMALL BUSINESS (back to top)
– Eatery to offer good food at cool prices
http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080502/APC03/805020505/1028
– Door County Economic Development Corp. awards announced
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080502/GPG03/805020583/1247
INVESTING (back to top)
– Dollar makes gains, crude prices fall, but gas prices rise to new record
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/biz/284279
– Keller Inc. honored for employee stock plan
http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080502/APC03/805020511/1028
– Journal to repurchase shares
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=746174
REAL ESTATE (back to top)
– Madison Library Board takes first step toward replacing building
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/284341
– From ‘party house’ to award winner
http://www.madison.com/tct/entertainment/77staging/284213
– Progress on downtown development languishes
http://www.gazettextra.com/news/2008/may/01/progress-downtown-development-languishes/
AGRIBUSINESS (back to top)
– Rep. Kind Offers Farm Bill Conservation Provisions
http://wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=545&yr=2008
– NASS Cheese, Farm Milk Prices Announced
http://wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=548&yr=2008
TRANSPORTATION (back to top)
– Road construction season set to begin
http://www.madison.com/tct/news/stories/284291
– No problem at airport with Memphis shutdown
http://www.madison.com/tct/news/stories/284207
– Smaller market delivers
http://www.gmtoday.com/news/local_stories/2008/May_08/05012008_18.asp
RETAIL (back to top)
– Wal-Mart proposal gets mixed reaction
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=746240
– Area’s resale shop owners see little change in business
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080502/GPG03/805020579/1247
– Will superheroes save the day?
http://www.gmtoday.com/news/local_stories/2008/May_08/05012008_06.asp
REGULATION (back to top)
– Doyle: Expect roadwork delays, unpaid bills if no budget deal is reached
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/284269
– Ho-Chunk can’t get Dejope refund, court rules
http://www.madison.com/tct/news/stories/284255
– DNR ready to hook fish virus law violators
http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080502/APC0101/805020529/1979/APCnews
TOURISM (back to top)
– Mifflin St. Block Party still wild at 40
http://www.madison.com/wsj/topstories/284329
– Oneida Airport Hotel Corp. buys Wingate
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080501/GPG03/805010693/1247
– Wis. Capitol hearing room prepared for filming of Depp movie
http://www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2008/05/02/wi/04wis02.txt
UTILITIES (back to top)
– CEO talks up new power plants
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=746203
– State settles air pollution lawsuit against 3 electric utilities
http://www.madison.com/tct/news/stories/284289
– Task force weighs nuclear power
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=746202
HEALTH CARE (back to top)
– With measles nearby, Dane County officials urging immunizations
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/284318
– Measles outbreak is national epidemic
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=746239
– Dorn is Aurora’s clinic manager
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080501/GPG03/805010694/1247
FINANCIAL SERVICES (back to top)
– Fiserv first-quarter profits lifted by asset sales
http://www.gmtoday.com/news/local_stories/2008/May_08/05012008_05.asp
– Crunching the numbers
http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080502/WDH03/805020303/1618/WDHbusiness
MANAGEMENT (back to top)
– De Pere’s Mail Haus, FILL-PROS merge
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080502/GPG03/805020581/1247
– Johanson adds new division in Madison
http://www.madison.com/tct/business/284315
– Pettit Center head to leave
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=746241
– Boneparth, Jones join Kohl’s board
http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2008/04/28/daily50.html?surround=lfn
– Brewers sign front office executives to extended deals
http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2008/04/28/daily56.html?surround=lfn
BUSINESS COLUMNS (back to top)
– Jacque Georgia: Bankers, brokers each have benefits
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080502/GPG0703/805020580/1247/GPG03
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