— This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with Brian Andrew, chief investment officer for Johnson Financial Group.
He provides insights on the recent high-profile collapses of Silicon Valley Bank in California and Signature Bank in New York, highlighting some of the factors that led to the banks failing last month.
“If everybody decides to take those deposits out in a day or two or three, like happened with Silicon Valley Bank, the bank has a major liquidity problem,” he explained. “And they have ways to get liquidity from the Fed … from their security portfolio, but if all of the deposits decide to leave in a very short period of time, that’s going to create a problem. And that’s what we saw happen.”
Andrew also discusses the state’s banking ecosystem, noting banks in Wisconsin and the Midwest more broadly tend to be run more conservatively with a more diversified deposit base.
“There are a lot of bankers in this state who lived through the financial crisis and formed the way they think about managing a bank as a result of that,” he said. “And so I think it’s just a different environment.”
Listen to the podcast here: https://www.wisbusiness.com/2023/wisbusiness-the-podcast-with-brian-andrew-johnson-financial-group/
See the full list of WisBusiness.com podcasts: https://www.wisbusiness.com/category/podcast/
— In the latest episode of “Talking Trade,” Wisconsin Center for Manufacturing and Productivity CEO Buckley Brinkman discusses how the center prepares businesses for exporting.
He says the center’s ExporTech program helps manufacturers develop an exporting plan in 90 days that can be implemented immediately.
“It’s really a strategic submersion, where you really get to the point where you understand, here’s my product portfolio, here are the likely targets in the world where this can be sold, and then connecting into the other resources that are available through the state or the federal government,” he said.
According to Brinkman, companies that have gone through the program gain about $1 million in additional sales on average.
“This isn’t as risky as most people think, because you have a lot of people helping you,” he said. “Then you have an opportunity for a huge upside when you’re talking about exporting.”
He also shares his thoughts on some of the top trends impacting manufacturers, including supply chain uncertainty, the effort to get “critical manufacturing” out of China and the outlook for the North American market.
Watch the show here: https://www.wisbusiness.com/2023/talking-trade-with-buckley-brinkman-wisconsin-center-for-manufacturing-and-productivity/
“Talking Trade” is now available in audio form on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts. Subscribe and find more episodes here: https://www.wisbusiness.com/category/talking-trade/
— A senior advisor for the MKE 2024 Host Committee says a new vendor platform will help more businesses benefit from the Republican National Convention coming to Milwaukee next year.
Alison Prange, also the committee’s chief of staff, yesterday announced the launch of the “Vendor Connection” online tool alongside Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, VISIT Milwaukee Executive Director and CEO Peggy Williams-Smith and others.
“Our goal with the Vendor Connection is to drive lasting economic impact across the greater Milwaukee area and the state of Wisconsin,” Prange said during a press conference held at the Sherman Phoenix Marketplace in Milwaukee.
She urged businesses to sign up for the online tool, noting the information the host committee gathers will be used to build a database of companies interested in the opportunities presented by the convention. Johnson echoed her call to action. She stressed the long-term impact this resource will have during the convention and beyond.
“I want the local businesses here in our city, here in our state, to make money … I want to grow our hospitality industry, I want to grow our tourism industry right here in Milwaukee,” he said.
Williams-Smith said Visit Milwaukee will retain the entries in the vendor database and will use them for future conventions down the road, adding interest in the city has spiked following the RNC announcement last year.
“We’re really looking forward to sharing that wealth with all the different hospitality and tourism entities in the city,” she said. “We’re thrilled to be able to do that and to continue the momentum that this convention has already brought.”
See the new platform here: http://www.mke2024host.org/vendors/
— Wisconsin’s unemployment rate dropped to a new record low of 2.5 percent in March, according to the latest figures from the state Department of Workforce Development.
That marks a decline of 0.2 percentage points over the month from the previous record low of 2.7 percent in February. Wisconsin’s rate remains below the U.S. unemployment rate of 3.5 percent, DWD’s release shows.
“We expect the unemployment rate to stay low, or near these lows, as we go through the year because of the constraints we’ve seen on the workforce and the fact that we’re adding jobs, and the country’s adding jobs and businesses are still looking to hire,” DWD Chief Economist Dennis Winters said yesterday during a virtual briefing.
Meanwhile, the state’s labor force participation rate rose slightly to 64.6 percent in March. That’s compared to 62.6 percent at the national level.
And while the state’s total number of unemployed residents fell to a new record low of 76,600 in March, total nonfarm jobs hit a new record high of 2,997,900. That’s 3,900 more jobs than the pre-pandemic peak from January 2020, Winters said.
See the release: https://dwd.wisconsin.gov/press/unemployment/2023/230420-march-state.pdf
— Statewide home sales in March fell 23.6 percent over the year, the Wisconsin Realtors Association reports.
The group’s latest report shows 4,419 homes were sold last month, compared to 5,782 in March of 2022.
Meanwhile, statewide listings declined 20.1 percent over the same period, from 16,700 to 13,342. And the median home prices rose 6.9 percent, from about $255,000 last March to $273,000 last month.
WRA President and CEO Michael Theo notes the state’s current housing shortage is “depriving young individuals of the wealth-generating benefits” of owning a home.
“At the current pace of sales, we would need the available inventory to increase by nearly 24,000 homes, which is an increase of 178% from current levels, to get back to a balanced existing home market,” he said in the report.
The group notes that inventory levels typically follow a seasonal pattern, with the number of available homes falling in the winter before rising in the spring and peaking sometime in the summer. But March’s inventory levels were “historically low,” report authors wrote.
See the full report: https://www.wisbusiness.com/2023/wisconsin-realtors-association-historically-weak-inventories-keep-march-home-sales-down-drive-prices-up/
<br><b><i>Top headlines from the Health Care Report … </b></i>
— UW Health has announced a registered nurse apprenticeship program aimed at addressing the nursing workforce crisis.
Meanwhile, UW-Milwaukee this month will launch a new program to train sexual assault nurse examiners and keep them working in Wisconsin.
And a recent study from UW-Madison authors suggests interstate migration reduces regional disparities in mortality.
<i>For more of the most relevant news on COVID-19, reports on groundbreaking health research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics.com and WisBusiness.com.</i>
Sign up here: http://forms.gle/o8FtqTLviGJPja8C9
#TOP STORIES#
# UW System president calls for financial assessments of 2-year campuses amid steep enrollment declines
# Wisconsin ranked in bottom 10 states for funding its four-year public universities
# Wisconsin GOP lawmakers working on medical pot legalization
#TOPICS#
# AGRIBUSINESS
– Wisconsin lawmakers turn their attention to the next Farm Bill
http://wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=436&yr=2023
# CONSTRUCTION
– Milwaukee will use $15 million in federal funding to rebuild and resell foreclosed homes
# ECONOMY
– Wisconsin’s unemployment rate again sets record low
– Wisconsin unemployment rate down to 2.5%
– What will it take for Milwaukee to thrive in 2050? Business and community leaders weigh in
# EDUCATION
– UW System public funding lags technical college spending, report finds
– Cardinal Stritch University’s pending closure part of national trend
# HEALTH CARE
– More kids are getting tested for lead poisoning, but screenings haven’t returned to pre-pandemic levels
# MANUFACTURING
– Milwaukee County park to be renamed, will become part of the new Harley-Davidson Parks
– Pewaukee manufacturer buys former Pentair facility in Brookfield
# MEDIA
– Takeaways from Monfils documentary premiere; it will be shown at Milwaukee Film Festival
# POLITICS
– Milwaukee RNC host committee launches online business platform for convention
– Local businesses can now register for 2024 RNC vendor opportunities
# REAL ESTATE
– $50 million land sale approved for Microsoft data center in Mount Pleasant
– Milwaukee home prices rising faster than anywhere else in the country: Redfin
– Regency Mall redevelopment approved for $39.4 million Racine incentive
# SPORTS
– Milwaukee Little League has seen participation ‘explode’ amid nationwide decline in youth sports
# TECHNOLOGY
– Microsoft moving forward with Mount Pleasant data center plans at Foxconn site
– Marinette, Sturgeon Bay shipbuilder confirms cybersecurity incident
# UTILITIES
– Can nuclear energy save the Earth? Miss America Grace Stanke is an advocate.
# PRESS RELEASES
<i>See these and other press releases:
https://www.wisbusiness.com/press-releases/ </i>
UW-Madison: New paper from Guggenheim Fellow advances understanding of geographic health disparities
Dept. of Natural Resources: Save the date for OutWiGo Green on May 13
