— BizOpinion columnist Kevin Reardon says one study shows entrepreneurship could be a major force that will bring the current troubled economy back to health. Before any firm entrepreneurial decisions are made, however, Reardon says individuals not only need to examine their personal and potential business finances but also the considerable lifestyle changes entrepreneurship can bring. In his newest column, he has some basic strategic and financial steps to follow in starting a business: http://blogs.wisbusiness.com/bizopinion/2009/11/want-to-be-entrepreneur-get-business.html — The state’s unemployment rate for October dropped to 7.6 percent, down 0.1 percentage points from September. It continues the downward trend in the state’s unemployment rate that began in June, according to the Department of Workforce Development. But the unadjusted unemployment rate was 3.2 percentage points higher than the state rate of 4.4 percent in October 2008. The national unadjusted unemployment rate for October was 9.5 percent. Over the past year, Wisconsin has lost 129,600 non-farm jobs. See the release: http://dwd.wisconsin.gov/dwd/newsreleases/2009/unemployment/1009_state_lmi.pdf — An annual survey of health insurance prices finds WIsconsin continues to be significantly more costly than the national average. Employers and workers paid on average 22 percent more for health insurance in Wisconsin than the national average. According to the consulting firm Mercer, the average group health policy costs $10,888 per employee in Wisconsin. That’s compared to a national average of $8,945 per employee. — This week, scientists are revealing the genetic instructions inside corn, one of the big three cereal crops. Corn, or maize, has one of the most complex sequences of DNA ever analyzed, says University of Wisconsin-Madison genomicist David Schwartz, who was one of more than 100 authors in the article in the journal Science. “The maize genome is a true maze – full of confusing repeats and dead-ends that have troubled would-be sequencers for years,” says Schwartz. Publication of the genome is expected to advance knowledge of corn’s ancestry, and also guide breeders trying to extract even more productivity from a crop that is expected to produce more than 200 million tons of grain from more than 87 million acres in the United States this year. See more on UW-Madison’s contribution to the research: http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Article=177477 — UW-Madison has received a five-year, $9.5 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to identify virus mutations that would serve as early warnings of potential pandemic influenza viruses. Yoshihiro Kawaoka, a virologist at the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, is principal investigator on the project, which brings together an international team of scientists in a quest for a more reliable method of identifying influenza threats to human health. See details: http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Article=177480 — See video and listen to audio from this week’s WisPolitics.com/WisBusiness.com health care discussion in Madison. Get the links: http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Article=177510 TOP STORIES
Wisconsin’s unemployment rate drops: Job gains in construction, retail, and education and health services helped drop the state’s unemployment rate in October. The state Department of Workforce Development reported Thursday that the state’s jobless rate for October was 7.6 percent, down 0.1 percentage points from September, though still 3.2 percentage points higher than October 2008. Oceangoing vessels face tougher DNR rules: The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will start requiring all ships coming into Green Bay and other state ports to get a state-issued permit showing they are not carrying invasive species in their ballast water. Harley taps BNP for MV Agusta sale: Harley-Davidson Inc. said Thursday that it has hired the investment banking firm, BNP Paribas in Milan, Italy, to assist in the sale of the Milwaukee motorcycle manufacturer’s European sport bike subsidiary MV Agusta. MillerCoors funds lab for museum: The public water education programs at Discovery World are going to be expanded — to include beer. MillerCoors is providing $500,000 over five years to fund the MillerCoors THIRST Freshwater Innovation Lab.
************************************************************ 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)
MANUFACTURING (back to top) – Brady net profit falls 42%
LABOR (back to top) – Brown County working out furlough bugs with union
SMALL BUSINESS (back to top) – Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt stresses value of Small Business Administration
INVESTING (back to top) – Shareholders approve Koss stock split
REAL ESTATE (back to top) – Moderne detractor has ties to competing developer – Bond issue for Park East area campus wins approval
AGRIBUSINESS (back to top) TRANSPORTATION (back to top)
RETAIL (back to top) – Capriotti’s to open shop in Chase tower – Kohl’s opens at 4 a.m. on Black Friday
TOURISM (back to top)
HEALTH CARE (back to top)
FINANCIAL SERVICES (back to top) – General Growth agreement sets up properties for Chap. 11 exit
MANAGEMENT (back to top) – Case IH chief Baker to lead P&H Mining PRESS RELEASES (back to top) For these and more releases visit http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Content=82 |
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