WisBusiness

With mortgage rates running near 20-year lows and a wide inventory of homes to choose from, will 2008 bring a turnaround from last year’s disappointing housing performance? A new survey of Wisconsin residents shows many reasons for optimism, but also points to several areas of concern as the key spring selling season approaches. A recent public opinion survey by the Wisconsin...

From WisBusiness.com ... -- Phillips Lighting Electronics has notified state and local officials that it plans to permanently close a plant in Boscobel beginning in early April and lay off 188 workers by Sept. 30, when all operations at the facility will cease. The company said it will shift production to a factory in Juarez, Mexico. The affected employees...

By Brian E. Clark WisBusiness.com MADISON – A decade ago, few Americans would have dreamed of traveling to Northern Ireland for a vacation. But times have changed. And the “Troubles,” as the conflict between predominantly Loyalists and the Nationalists was called, have subsided. The two sides, once bitter enemies, are now sharing power. With that calm, Madison travel entrepreneur Philip Ryan...

WisBusiness.com Beginning this spring, The Capital Timeswill dramatically enhance its Internet site, www.captimes.com , and alter its print cycle to reflect the changing habits of its afternoon newspaper readers. Publisher Clayton Frink said The Capital Times online site will feature increased volume, depth and timeliness of news, opinion and otherinformation. He said the printed edition of...

WisBusiness.com A slowing economy is hitting Meonomonee Falls-based Kohl's Corp., which is reporting a fiscal January comparable store sales decline of 8.3 percent. Many other major retailers say their sales were flat or off, too, though none of their drops were as large as Kohl's. Wal-Mart was up by .5 percent in January, Target, down 1.1 percent; J.C. Penney's, down...

By Rebecca Kontowicz WisBusiness.com Milwaukee Brewers general manager Doug Melvin says several improvements are coming to Miller Park this season and that he's confident the team will have a successful year in 2008. During the Milwaukee Rotary Club's weekly luncheon meeting Wednesday, Melvin said improvements will include a renovation of the .300 Club, an upscale restaurant at the...

WisBusiness.com Gov. Jim Doyle today announced that AlliedPanels, LLC, will receive $250,000 in Technology Zone tax credits to help with locating its first U.S. plant in Madison. The company reportedly will invest more than $2.2 million in the project, creating up to 56 jobs in Wisconsin over the next five years. “One of my top priorities is to help move...

WisBusiness.com Wisconsin foreclosure filings reached record highs in January, according to newly released data compiled by ForeclosuresWI.com, a leading provider of Wisconsin foreclosure resources and statistics. Badger State foreclosures have jumped 70 percent over the last three years (from 12,311 in 2005 to 20,995 in 2007), with January showing no sign of improvement, said ForeclosuresWI.com president...

Public Encouraged to Provide Comments MADISON – The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) will hold public hearings in Janesville on Wednesday, February 13 regarding an application from American Transmission Company (ATC) to build a transmission line from Beloit to Christiana. Citizens are invited to provide testimony on ATC’s request to build approximately 35 miles of new 345 kilovolt transmission line to connect the...