— Joe Kremer, head of the Wisconsin Angel Network, says the recession has been cruel to start-ups but it also has presented big opportunities for investors who are looking for good deals. Kremer works with angel investors, who are usually wealthy individuals who invest in many young companies in hopes that at least one of them will take off. He says angel investing increased in Wisconsin last year for two reasons. The first was investors helping out companies already in their portfolios, many of which were having problems with lines of credit and needed cash to continue operating. The second reason was that some investors saw what Kremer called a “bargain paradise.” As the economy sunk some high-quality companies lost value, making them good targets for investors betting on an eventual turnaround. See more in a new WisBusiness interview with Kremer: http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Article=166811 — U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore joined environmental advocates and others Monday in Milwaukee in calling for the House and Senate to agree on $475 million in Great Lakes restoration funds. The House approved the $475 million as part of the FY2010 budget in what Moore described today as a “mere down payment” on a multi-year project estimated to cost $25 billion between federal and local governments. The Senate, however, approved $400 million, a difference that must be reconciled. John Austin, a senior fellow with the Brookings Institution, described the restoration as an investment and said a conservative estimate shows the $25 billion restoration would provide $30 billion in short-term economic stimulus and $50 billion in long-term economic development for the region. — A press conference with Moore, Austin, representatives for Sens. Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold, and others was held as part of the Green Jobs for Clean Water event sponsored by the Sierra Club, the Wisconsin Blue Green Alliance and Healing Our Waters. Austin delivered the keynote address to the roughly 60 people gathered at the Milwaukee County War Memorial Center. He stressed that while water is important as a conduit for trade and a resource for manufacturers, it’s becoming more important now as an amenity because people want to be near and enjoy bodies of water. Austin said the Great Lakes region is responsible for 5 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, a disproportionate amount related to the region’s manufacturing focus. “The carbon economy is us,” Austin said. “Nothing wrong with that, meaning that it provided wealth and energy for us. But now we need to be the leader in the next generation of work to solve global problems, and we have the assets to do that.” TOP STORIES Johnson Controls to add solar at Guam Navy base: Johnson Controls Inc. said Monday it has signed an energy-savings performance contract with the U.S. Navy to improve the energy efficiency of the naval base in Guam. Ill. company to pay $2M for mislabeling Wis. veal : An Illinois meatpacking company has agreed to pay $2 million to settle federal charges that it mislabeled its veal raised in Wisconsin and elsewhere. Southwest bids $170 million for Frontier Airlines: Southwest Airlines said Monday afternoon that it filed a formal bid to buy bankrupt Frontier Airlines for more than $170 million in a binding cash offer.
************************************************************ See commentary from around the state and columns from WisBusiness contributors Jennifer Sereno, Kevin McKinley, Tom Burzinski, Gregg Hoffmann, Tom Still and Steve Jagler: ************************************************************ TECHNOLOGY (back to top)
MANUFACTURING (back to top) – Papermaker Appleton reports 15 percent sales drop – Automakers must shift gears to future – Appleton reports 2Q income growth
LABOR (back to top) – Department of Workforce Development’s Unemployment Insurance call centers to close Friday for furlough
SMALL BUSINESS (back to top)
INVESTING (back to top)
REAL ESTATE (back to top) – Metro home sales rose 9.8% in July from a year ago
AGRIBUSINESS (back to top) – Crop Report: August Temps & Rainfall to the Rescue – Klement’s Sausage reintroduces fully cooked line
RETAIL (back to top) – Verlo’s Grafton, West Bend stores get new owner
REGULATION (back to top)
HEALTH CARE (back to top) – Saint Clare’s keeps trauma center status
FINANCIAL SERVICES (back to top) – M&I reports wider second-quarter loss PRESS RELEASES (back to top) For these and more releases visit http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Content=82 |
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