Tuesday Trends sample: Generac rising, venture capital mixed and We Energies falling

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RISING

Generac: First, the Waukesha-based generator manufacturer reports record sales and a profit increase of more than 60 percent in its quarterly report. Then, the governor visits the company’s headquarters to help announce the addition of 300 to 400 new jobs between its facilities in Waukesha, Whitewater and Eagle. The company attributes the jobs to heightened demand — in part due to widespread recent power outages in the Midwest and on the East Coast — and will hold a job fair this week to kick off recruiting for the jobs, many of which must be filled within 90 days. Those jobs are on top of 50 positions that will be added at Magnum Products, an affiliated manufacturer of light towers and mobile generators. Generac acquired Berlin-based Magnum last month.

MIXED

Venture capital: With Republican majorities in the Senate and Assembly thus far unable to reach a deal on legislation aimed an increasing state venture capital investment, Gov. Scott Walker rolls our his own compromise and suspends meetings of a working group that’s in discussions on venture capital proposals. The governor’s proposed $100 million venture capital fund would create a “fund-of-funds” to raise capital to be invested along with other venture capital funds, backed by bonding through non-refundable tax credits. Of that total, $5 million would be set aside for co-investments in “angel networks.” A nine-person board would oversee the investments, which would be required to be made in Wisconsin businesses. Walker says he wants to move forward where lawmakers agree, but the proposal leaves out any reference to a plan laid out by Assembly Republicans to include a leveraged tax credit model, with the chair of the working group acknowledging there isn’t enough support for that aspect of the discussions at the moment. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald concedes that the venture capital bill has a difficult hill to climb in his caucus as lawmakers look to potentially return to the Capitol later this year.

FALLING

We Energies: A strong third quarter earnings report is overshadowed by the collapse of a bluff at the utility’s new coal-fired power plant in Oak Creek, likely spilling coal ash into Lake Michigan. The mudslide swept an area about the size of a football field into the lake, including several small buildings and railroad cars. Production at the plant has not been affected, according to utility officials, and investigations of the collapse’s cause and environmental impact remain ongoing. But We Energies concedes that the debris likely included coal ash, which contains low concentrations of arsenic, selenium, lead and mercury. Environmental advocates say the spill could impact drinking water supplies along the Lake Michigan coast and urge federal officials to step up oversight of areas where coal ash is stored.