MON AM News: Talking Trade with John Min, Monex USA; WisBusiness: the Show with Ashwinraj Karthikeyan, Phoenix-Aid

— In the latest edition of “Talking Trade,” Monex USA Chief Economist John Min shares insights on the U.S. economy as well as global trends. 

Monex USA is an international payment services business specializing in foreign currency. 

“For the last two years, many of my colleagues and fellow industry experts and market watchers, we’ve been expecting the U.S. economy to enter a recession … I also expected a recession last year,” he said, but noted newly adjusted models predict “another solid year” domestically in 2025. 

He noted the United States has “defied” economists’ predictions as productivity has grown more quickly than expected. 

“There’s a surge in productivity, at the same time there has been a surge in U.S. population,” he said. 

The podcast explores the impacts of tariffs on the world stage, with Min noting the direct cost of tariffs typically hits U.S. consumers. He said Federal Reserve board members are expressing worry about expected tariffs under the incoming Trump Administration, pointing to greater inflationary pressures in the near future. 

“Right now, they are getting close to 2%, that is our explicit goal by the Federal Reserve,” he said. “But it has been tough, that last mile from 3% to 2%, that’s going to be tough and with the tariff coming on board, and possible deportations, the Fed may be forced to keep the interest rate higher for longer.” 

Still, he notes that trend would be good for the U.S. dollar in the foreign exchange market. 

“So there’s a huge demand for the dollar, and that’s why the dollar has been very, very strong this year and last year, the year before,” he said. “And again, from Monex, our research department, we expect the dollar to continue to be very strong.” 

Min will be a featured speaker tomorrow at a 2025 Economic Forecast event hosted by the Madison International Trade Association. See details and register here

Talking Trade is hosted by E.M Wasylik Associates Managing Director Ken Wasylik and M.E. Dey & Co. President and Managing Director Sandi Siegel. 

Watch the full episode here

“Talking Trade” is now available in audio form on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts. Subscribe and find more episodes here

— The latest episode of “WisBusiness: The Show” features Ashwinraj Karthikeyan of Phoenix-Aid LLC, an Oshkosh company developing diabetes-related wound care products for underserved markets. 

Karthikeyan won the Wisconsin regional round of the Start Up World Cup Competition at November’s Early Stage Symposium in Madison, and is now eligible to compete in the 2025 cup competition. 

The company’s Phoenix-Aid Protect product is meant for patients with diabetic foot ulcers, made with a patented “nanocomposite” wound dressing material. Chronic wounds like these can linger for months and even years in some cases, according to Karthikeyan. 

“What we’re trying to do is replace what they consider the standard of care, which is essentially a bulky combination of foot ointment and gauzes, a very bulky foot wrap, which is very cumbersome … Our product is very thin, as you can see, very easy to apply,” he said. 

It’s designed to stay on for three to five days, compared to 18 to 36 hours for the current standard, at about half the cost. 

Karthikeyan also discusses his background in aerospace engineering and how it brought him to the medical products field. 

“I went for aerospace engineering, but my interest was always aerospace materials,” he said. “And I was working with my dad, and I started working on his nanomaterials … What I’m working on right now is a very complicated materials problem, because it’s specified for biomaterials. So it’s all related.” 

In addition to the interview, the episode previews upcoming events from the Wisconsin Technology Council, which produces the show. 

Watch the full episode here and find more episodes

— Amtrak’s Borealis Service line is getting $38.6 million in federal funding, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin announced. 

This funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation will support new service additions for the Chicago-to-Minneapolis line, which has eight stops in Wisconsin. The dollars come from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and annual funding legislation, according to Baldwin’s release. 

The announcement notes the Borealis service had more than 100,000 riders last year in its first 22 weeks of service, after starting in May 2024. It makes stops in Sturtevant, Milwaukee, Columbus, Portage, the Wisconsin Dells, Tomah and La Crosse. 

“This investment doubles down on the success of Amtrak’s Borealis Service, reducing wear and tear on our roads, attracting new visitors, and bringing new business to our state,” Baldwin said in the release. 

See the release

— Fewer than half of the economic indicators tracked by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce showed year-over-year improvement in November, reflecting the local economy’s “tepid” condition. 

That’s according to the MMAC’s latest economic trends report for the metro area, which found just 10 of the 23 indicicators were positive for the month. That’s a decline from the 13 positive indicators from the group’s October report. 

Bret Mayborne, MMAC’s vice president of economic research, says the aggregate total of positive indicators had risen “strongly” in October, “November’s total slipped back to its prior position.” 

“All-in-all, there has been some improvement in 2024’s second half, but overall growth in employment, especially across a broader set of major industry sectors, is the next step to a stronger local economic environment,” he said in a statement on the report. 

Seven of the area’s 10 major industry sectors had year-over-year job losses, the largest seen in the information sector with 6.1%. Of those gaining jobs over the year, the government sector had the biggest increase with 2.6%. 

The report also tracks measures of manufacturing strength, showing the length of a production worker’s workweek increased 11.6% over the year to 38.6 hours, its highest average level since November 2021. That led to a 5.7% increase in average weekly earnings for these workers, rising to $1,044. But average hourly earnings for these workers dropped 5.3%, marking the 15th month in a row this measure has fallen. 

See more in the report

— Michael Best Strategies has hired Alison Prange to serve as the new chief operating officer for the consulting, lobbying and public relations firm on the heels of her serving in a similar role for the host committee that helped put on the Republican National Convention.

Prange, who served as president and chief operating officer of MKE 2024 Host Committee, said the new position will allow her to work closely with people in Washington, D.C., while remaining in Wisconsin.

“It’s going to be a really great opportunity to keep a foot in Wisconsin, but bring in some of the things I know about national policies and politics and how businesses work together with those,” she said.

The firm also announced today that Tory Sendek will lead its Washington, D.C.-based federal government relations practice. He has served as a managing director for the Board of Advisers in DC since 2018. He also worked in the White House during the first Trump administration.

See the release

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TOPICS 

AGRIBUSINESS 

– Apply now – Dairy Innovation Hub Research Proposals 2025 

ECONOMY 

– Madison eviction prevention program buoyed by $1M federal grant 

HEALTH CARE 

– Wisconsin shortage of school mental health resources continues 

POLITICS 

– After hitting political snag, UW engineering building back on track 

– Where do Wisconsin politicians stand on the TikTok ban? 

REAL ESTATE 

– 3 downtown Madison buildings prepare for sale as state consolidates office space 

SMALL BUSINESS 

– Fox Point-based startup Alinea Engage acquired by Pittsburgh company 

SPORTS 

– Broken Bat teams up with Bucks player on Green Light beer 

TECHNOLOGY

– Large data center may be coming to Port Washington 

– Milwaukee-based Rent College Pads acquired by student housing startup 

TOURISM 

– Kalahari Resorts plans $76M waterpark expansion in Wisconsin Dells 

COLUMNS 

– Opinion: Another downtown high-rise for the rich won’t help Milwaukee children 

PRESS RELEASES

See these and other press releases 

Wisconsin Farmers Union: Hosts running for local office trainings

UW-Green Bay: UW-Green Bay and Sheboygan area manufacturers unveil new training program

Dept. of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection: Reminds processors to apply for dairy processor grant through January 17