Tempered by a housing market hangover, a slumping American automotive industry and the costly war in Iraq, most economists are projecting slow growth of 2 to 3 percent for the U.S. economy in 2007. Read more about the year ahead in SBT's annual Economic Trends issue, which hit the newsstands today. The cover story is headlined, "Prepare for the slow climb."
The comprehensive special print edition includes reports on the stock market, employment trends, the automotive industry, information technology, the retail industry, mergers and acquisitions activity, manufacturing, the impact of China, commercial real estate developments, health care and the insurance industry. The report also includes an exclusive SBT poll of Milwaukee-area small business executives.
The special report coincides with the Northern Trust Economic Trends Breakfast presented by SBT, the Independent Business Association of Wisconsin and TEC. More than 500 people attended the breakfast at the Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee this morning.
The panelists at today's breakfast included the following:

• Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, who gave a political outlook for 2007. Walker said he has discovered a bumper sticker that both Republicans and Democrats could agree upon in 2007: "Run Hillary, Run!" Walker said, "The Democrats will put that on the back of their car, and the Republicans (will put that) on the front of their car," Walker joked. Walker said 2007 will be a key year to "get something done" politically, because 2008 will likely be locked up in presidential politics, with little chance of legislative accomplishments.
• Economist Michael Knetter, dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business, who acknowledged the challenges facing the U.S. economy, including "irresponsible" federal deficits, but said he remains bullish about the year ahead. "I think the future remains bright for us," Knetter said. Wisconsin would be better-positioned for growth if it had more companies based in the "knowledge economy," Knetter said.
• Paul Shain, chief executive officer of Berbee Information Networks Corp. in Madison, who said new information technology will help companies enhance their customer experience, improve their productivity and lower their costs. "The next generation of this is all about mobility for workers to work at home," Shain said, adding that in a tight labor force, flexibility in scheduling and technology will be keys to attracting and retaining the top talent.
• Michael Koss, CEO Koss Corp. in Milwaukee, who said Wal-Mart continues to dominate the retail industry because of its streamlined and efficient infrastructure. "I love Wal-Mart, and I'm not being facetious," Koss said. Koss warned of rising challenges for protecting intellectual property in China and other emerging markets.
• Harry Stratton II, CEO of Strattec Security Corp. in Milwaukee, said 2007 will be a year of transition for the American automotive industry, which he said has morphed from the "Big Three" into the "Detroit Three." He called Japanese automotive manufacturers Toyota, Honda and Nissan the "New Domestics" who have built factories throughout the United States. He said American manufacturers will continue to absorb the "legacy costs" of retirement and health care benefits from labor concessions made during the recession in the 1980s. "It's in a pretty disastrous state," Stratton said of the American automotive industry. However, Stratton said he is hopeful that the industry will begin to rebound in 2008.

In edition to the Economic Trends special report, the print edition of this week's SBT also features the publication's Commercial Lending Guide.

AirTran Holdings Inc. announced today it has fired another shot in its hostile takeover attempt of Midwest Air Group Inc. by sending a letter to Midwest shareholders.
The letter is signed by Orlando, Fla.-based AirTran chief executive officer Joe Leonard and president and chief operating officer Bob Fornaro.
The letter urges shareholders to put pressure on the Midwest board of directors to accept AirTran's latest offer to acquire the Oak Creek-based parent company of Midwest Airlines for $13.25 per share, or $345 million.
"When you review AirTran's offer (also available at http://www.airtran.com/midwest/default.aspx), you will see that it not only provides you with a significant premium to Midwest's stock price before we made our offer public, but also that it offers you the upside potential of continuing to own shares in a combined AirTran and Midwest. We believe the merged company would be a stronger, truly national low-cost carrier offering a high quality product that would generate improved profit potential through a number of revenue and cost synergies. The combined carrier will be better able to succeed in an increasingly competitive environment; it would expand service in Milwaukee and Kansas City; and provide more low fares to more cities. We also expect the combined company to create more jobs and increase advancement opportunities for employees of both airlines, and increase the economic benefit of travel and tourism to the cities in which AirTran and Midwest currently operate," the letter stated.
The letter again criticizes Midwest's business plan, even though in their most recent quarters, Midwest posted a profit of $1.7 million, while AirTran lost $4.3 million.
To read the full letter, visit
http://pressroom.airtran.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=201565&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=951987&highlight=.

The net income for Johnson Controls Inc. uncharacteristically dipped in its fiscal first quarter to $162 million, or 82 cents per share, from $165 million, or 85 cents per share, in the same period a year ago, reflecting the softness of the American automotive sector.
The company's diverse line of businesses includes providing batteries, seats and other parts for automobiles.
The Milwaukee-based company's net sales in the quarter rose to $8.2 billion from $7.5 billion.
John Barth, chairman and chief executive officer of Johnson Controls, said he remains confident that the company will achieve double-digit earnings growth in fiscal 2007.
"I am pleased with our performance in the first quarter, which was in-line with our expectations. Our building efficiency and power solutions businesses continue to deliver record results. The full-year outlook calls for Johnson Controls to outperform in its markets, making 2007 another year of record sales and earnings," Barth said.

Toyota Motor Corp. recalled 533,000 U.S.-built pickup and sport utility vehicles Thursday because of steering problems.
The recall applies to Tundra pickups and Sequoia sport utility vehicles produced at the automaker's Indiana plant. The recall affects some Tundra pickups from the model years 2004 to 2007 and certain 2004 to 2007 model year Sequoias.
The Japanese company said it has received reports of 11 accidents and six injuries that may have been caused by the steering problems.
For additional information, visit MarketWatch.com.

Bank Mutual Corp. today reported 2006 full-year net earnings of $20.6 million, or 34 cents per share, which was down from $28.0 million, or 43 cents per share, in 2005.
For the fourth quarter, the Milwaukee-based company reported parent earnings of $4.6 million, or 8 cents per share, down from $6.0 million 10 cents per share.
The company attributed the earnings decreases a drop in its net interest margin, partially offset by a federal income tax refund. Diluted earnings per share calculations and net income also were affected by Bank Mutual's ongoing stock repurchase programs, the company said.
Bank Mutual's commercial business loan originations decreased slightly in 2006 to $42.9 million from $43.5 million in 2005. The bank's total assets grew to $3.5 billion from $3.4 billion.
"Our fourth quarter and full year operating results reflect the dual impact of an inverted yield curve and a slowing housing market. Although we believe those factors are consistent with industry trends, we have mitigated the resulting negative effects by limiting the leverage in our balance sheet, carefully controlling our expenses and remaining in an active repurchase program for our stock when market conditions are right," said Michael Crowley Jr., chairman, president and chief executive officer of the company.

Sprecher Brewing Co. in Glendale has released two African-style beers, Shakparo Ale and Mbege Ale. Both beers were developed by Sprecher brewmaster Craig Burge, who began the project by extensively researching the history of brewing in Africa, African beer styles.
Many traditional African beers are brewed by women in villages, and the brews are unfiltered and have little carbonation.
"I don't see this as a departure so much as a broadening of what we excel at, which is brewing quality beers with really distinctive flavor profiles regardless of their county of origin," Burge said.
Shakparo Ale is a West African Shakparo-style beer brewed from sorghum. It is n unfiltered, light, crisp ale with hints of fruits and spices.
Mbege Ale is an unfiltered ale with the taste of fresh bananas.

The future of Milwaukee's business improvement districts (BIDs) will be the focus of the upcoming State of the City Luncheon on Feb. 13.
The annual event is presented by BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association) of Wisconsin and AOMA (Apartment Owners & Managers Association) of Greater Milwaukee.
The theme will be "The Neighborhood Perspective: Milwaukee BID Panel." Opening remarks will be provided by Richard "Rocky" Marcoux, commissioner of the Milwaukee Department of City Development.
The panelists will include: Jim Plaisted of the East North Avenue BID #20; Teig Whaley-Smith of the Historic King Drive BID #8; Beth Nicols of the Milwaukee Downtown BID #21; Laura Bray of the Menomonee Valley BID #26; and Brenna Holly of the 30th Street Industrial & Economic Corridor BID #37.
The event will take place at the Milwaukee Athletic Club, 758 N. Broadway, beginning at 11:30 a.m. Additional information is available by calling (414) 278-7557.

The demand for a Marquette University education has set a record for the seventh consecutive year.
Marquette's Office of Admissions has received more than 13,000 applications for 1,800 spots in the 2007 freshman class.  This year's number represents a 16 percent increase over last year's applications.  
Marquette also has seen the academic quality of its applicants increase, according to Robert Blust, dean of undergraduate admissions at the Milwaukee school. "The interest in Marquette continues to grow each year, reflecting the value of the education that students receive here. Plus, the quality of applicants continues to rise, and we are receiving applications from students of more ethnically and geographically diverse backgrounds," Blust said.

BizTimes Daily readers interested in getting a jumpstart on their weekend are encouraged to check out the weekly OnMilwaukee.com Weekend Preview. OnMilwaukee.com is a media partner of SBT.

The BizTimes Stock Index fell 1.26 points to 175.36 Thursday, and local stocks were flat in a see-saw session of early morning trading today. The largest local advancers this morning were Bucyrus International Inc. (up $1.20 to $46.56) and Joy Global Inc. (up 78 cents to $46.75). The largest local decliners this morning were Kohl's Corp. (down 57 cents to $69.26) and A.O. Smith Corp. (down 44 cents to $35.56). The BizTimes Stock Index was created by Small Business Times and is monitored by North Shore Bank. The index, which measures the stock values of publicly held companies based in southeastern Wisconsin, is updated daily and can be viewed at www.biztimes.com.