— National nonfarm payroll employment declined by 539,000 in April, and the unemployment rate rose from 8.5 to 8.9 percent. Since the start of the recession in December 2007, job losses have totaled 5.7 million, and the unemployment rate has increased by 4 percentage points. Job losses may be starting to level off: private employment fell by 611,000 in April, compared with average monthly declines of 700,000 in the prior 4 months. See the release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/jec.pdf — The “stress test” released Thursday afternoon by the federal government examined 19 large banks and found that 10 of them needed a total of $75 billion in new capital, including $33.9 billion for Bank of America and $13.7 billion for Wells Fargo. Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp, which has extensive operations in Wisconsin, was found to be well capitalized and didn’t need any additional capital buffer. See the results of the test: http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/press/bcreg/bcreg20090507a1.pdf — A Board of Regents committee meeting in Milwaukee on Thursday unanimously approved a tuition increase for UW-Madison undergraduates. If approved by the full board today, tuition for UW-Madison undergraduates would increase $250 a year for four straight years beginning in 2010 — meaning a $1,000 total surcharge. Out-of-state students would be charged an additional $750 each year, resulting in a $3,000 surcharge after four years. As part of the proposal, a portion of the new revenue would match private donations for an increase in need-based financial aid, with the aim of negating the tuition hike for students whose families earn less than $80,000. Chancellor Biddy Martin said the increase is needed in order to preserve the quality of the institution, retain and hire new faculty, and make more classes available. Though many speakers supporters the plan, one Madison student said the tuition boost will not solve every problem and it will hurt some students who have to work to pay their tuition. — What would you say to doing less and getting more out of your 24 hours? Pick up the new audiobook “The Power of Less” by Leo Babauta, and book reviewer Terri Schlichenmeyer says you may discover the secret to better time management. Read more in her newest review: http://blogs.wisbusiness.com/bizopinion/2009/05/book-review-power-of-less.html — Listen to new audio from Monday’s WisBusiness luncheon with Tim Cooley, Madison’s new economic development director: http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Article=158026 TOP STORIES Layoffs, furloughs, cuts to local government seen in new budget crisis : State workers will have to shoulder furloughs, up to 1,100 layoffs and a rollback of expected raises to fix an additional budget shortfall of $1.5 billion, Gov. Jim Doyle said Thursday. But the Democratic governor said he wouldn’t propose more tax hikes. Dairy industry faces uphill financial climb: Not only are there 13,274 individually owned family farms that are home to 1.25 million milking cows, there are thousands of agri-dairy marketers who provide goods and services to the industry of producing milk. And all are suffering financially. SBA lending in Wisconsin up 30% in April : Business lending backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration in Wisconsin rose by 30% from March to April, although the monthly total continued the recession-driven pattern of falling well below the level from a year ago.
************************************************************ 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)
ECONOMY (back to top) – Saga, owner of WKLH, posts loss
MANUFACTURING (back to top) – TreeHouse Foods reports 1Q earnings growth – Could Chrysler Kenosha plant be retooled?
LABOR (back to top) – Workers wanted: Recession aside, some businesses are recruiting
SMALL BUSINESS (back to top)
INVESTING (back to top)
REAL ESTATE (back to top) – New ultra-green houses planned
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RETAIL (back to top)
REGULATION (back to top)
TOURISM (back to top) – Movies coming to Miller Park
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MANAGEMENT (back to top) PRESS RELEASES (back to top) For these and more releases visit http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Content=82 |
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