In its final issue of the year, Small Business Times tells the stories of local business executives who have overcome significant medical problems or disabilities. Just in time for Christmas, these stories are intended to provide a testament to the human spirit. This year, SBT presents the compelling stories of Mick Hatch, Bridget Viohl, Jan Kusko and Jerry Moses. This week's SBT also includes the story of how The Schroeder Group regrouped, and the Manufacturing Spotlight on Anguil Environmental Systems Inc.

Marshall & Ilsley Corp. said today that the deterioration of the real estate market will cause it to incur up to $195 million in charge-offs in the fourth quarter, but those losses will be more than offset by other factors, including the proceeds from the sale of its Metavante Technologies Inc. subsidiary.
The sale of Metavante brought a gain of $526 million for the parent company of M&I Bank. The gain is tax-free to M&I and will be reported as a component of discontinued operations in the quarter ending Dec. 31. There will also be after-tax costs of approximately $21 million related to the separation transaction in the same period. M&I received a contribution of $1.665 billion in cash in the separation transaction which strengthened M&I's capital position.
The Metavante sale was one of several unusual events that will have impact on M&I's fourth quarter and its fiscal year.
On Nov. 13, M&I announced it would record an after-tax liability of approximately $5 million in connection with its share of the proposed settlement of the American Express antitrust litigation against Visa. While M&I is not a named defendant in this litigation, M&I and other Visa member banks are obligated to share in certain losses in connection with the litigation under Visa's by-laws.
On Nov. 16, M&I completed the sale of its three branches in the Tulsa, Okla., market, resulting in an after-tax gain of approximately $17 million. M&I determined that exiting the Tulsa market was a better allocation of resources than further expansion in that market.
On Dec. 17, M&I retired $1 billion of Puttable Reset Securities (PURS) issued by its subsidiary, M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank. The PURS were initially issued in November 2000, and were remarketed in December of each year thereafter. Given the currently unfavorable credit market environment, M&I determined to retire the PURS in order to lower M&I's borrowing costs going forward. M&I incurred a one-time, after-tax charge of $48 million in connection with the retirement of that debt. M&I expects to recover this charge through lower financing costs over the next approximately three years.
M&I continues to assess its loan portfolio, particularly as the real estate segment continues to deteriorate. M&I expects a loan loss provision in the fourth quarter of up to $235 million for its real estate portfolio.
"Despite these challenging market conditions, we are fortunate to have one of the strongest capital positions in the industry," said Mark Furlong, president and chief executive officer of Marshall & Ilsley Corp. "We believe we are well-positioned to weather the downturn in the real estate market."

Nearly three-fourths of local employers recently surveyed by Brookfield-based QPS Companies Inc. believe 2008 will be a year of average to above average growth and development for their companies.
The staffing company surveyed more than 200 employers throughout Wisconsin and northern Illinois, including manufacturers, banks, printers, distributors and information technology firms.
About 72 percent of the respondents project growth for their companies in 2008. About 54 percent anticipate an increase in hiring trends. The average percentage by which companies plan on increasing their payroll is 7.54 percent.
In 2008, the biggest issue that will impact employers is a lack of qualified or reliable employees, according to the survey. Other top business issues cited include cost of materials, insurance and fuel costs, labor costs, technology, overseas competition, time constrains and government regulations.

The Sleep Wellness Institute, Wisconsin's largest sleep disorders diagnosis and treatment center, has begun a $250,000 expansion project in West Allis.
According to president Mark Stoiber, the expansion is necessary after several years of double-digit increases in patient visits.
The expansion project will add two sleep study rooms, a new "tech station" where sleep technicians monitor patients undergoing studies and two rooms for continuous positive pressure airway (CPAP) consultation and set-ups for patients diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea.
The general contractor for the project is Link Associates of Waukesha. The expansion is expected to be completed in March.
The Institute is the only independent sleep disorders center in Wisconsin accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine to diagnose both adults and children, and is the only Wisconsin center certified to train sleep technicians.

Sprint opened to the doors today to a new business customer call center in West Salem, Wis.
The new call center will employ approximately 200 employees by spring 2008.
The expanded operations will provide Sprint business customers enhanced care support, with a more proactive and personal level of service from care representatives, according to the company.
The call center will eventually be equipped with specialized call-routing capabilities that will enable business customers to receive quicker service from representatives who are familiar with customers' account histories and understand their specific needs. The center will provide all aspects of customer service to small business and corporate accounts, including general care and basic troubleshooting.
"The opening of our West Salem center helps Sprint enhance our corporate and small business customers' experiences when they need support," said Lori Lockhart, director of the West Salem center.
The new center is part of Sprint and Nextel investing $28 million to expand its networks in Wisconsin during 2007.

Curtis Industries, a Milwaukee-based manufacturer of electronic EMI filters and wire interconnect terminal blocks, acquired the Preo brand EMI filter from Eastek International Inc. of Buffalo Grove, Ill.
Curtis is a division of Powers Holdings Inc. The purchase of the Preo line will give Curtis additional product offerings to augment its standard product line, according to company president Steven Powers.
"This acquisition provides us with a South East Asia manufacturing site that will add to our Nogales, Sonora, Mexico and Milwaukee manufacturing sites," Powers said. "We've also added one of the largest worldwide distributors to our network of distributors selling Curtis products."
The acquired line of filters will enable Curtis to further expand its market share, Powers said. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

ARI Network Services, Inc., a Milwaukee-based provider of technology-enabled business solutions for equipment dealers, distributors and manufacturers, today reported fiscal first quarter net income of $243,000, or 4 cents per share, up from $225,000, or 3 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
The company's quarterly revenues increased 21 percent to $4.2 million from $3.5 million a year earlier.
"This was a good quarter for ARI. The marketing services business continued to drive our revenue growth, with 55 percent of the growth being organic and 45 percent resulting from the acquisition of OC-Net, which we acquired in January 2007," said Brian Dearing, chairman and chief executive officer of the company. "As anticipated, our return to profitability in the first quarter reflected the fact that we did not have the non-recurring items in the first quarter that contributed to the net losses in the third quarter and fourth quarter of last year."
Dearing noted that the company will make a final $200,000 payment at the end of this month on the $4 million in debt it restructured in April 2003. "All of our remaining debt is related to the OC-Net acquisition," he said.
ARI's stock is thinly traded over the counter.

Twenty children's charities from Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine, Washington and Ozaukee counties are splitting more than  $1 million in donations from the Potawatomi Bingo Casino's annual Miracle on Canal Street program.
Each charity will receive more then $50,000.
"Once again, our guests have shown just how much they care about these fabulous charities," said Melanie Martin, bingo director at Potawatomi Bingo Casino. "Year after year, this proves to be an incredible program. Potawatomi is proud to help improve the quality of life for area children.” 
Money for the program is raised though special Miracle bingo games, a two-night charity dinner/auction at Dream Dance restaurant, and the casino's annual vendor golf outing and auction. 
Since 1993, Miracle on Canal Street has raised more than $8 million for children's charities in Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington, Racine and Waukesha counties.
Almost 100 organizations applied for the 2007 Miracle on Canal Street program. Potawatomi Bingo Casino chose 15 at random during a drawing in August. The winning charities include: Advocates of Ozaukee; ArtWorks for Milwaukee; Athletes for Youth Inc.; Homeless Assistance Leadership Organization; Milwaukee Christian Center Youth Program; Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra; Minority Christian Coaches Association; Neighborhood House of Milwaukee; Ozaukee Family Services; Persons Expressing Problems Challenging Ideas Inc.; Rosalie Manor Community & Family Services; Sojourner Truth House Children's Program; The Threshold Inc. "Birth-to-Three Program;" Wheelin' Wizards; Wisconsin Association of Blind Athletes; Camps for Kids; Hunger Task Force; Aurora Health Care Newborn Intensive Care Unit; Urban Ecology Center; and Silver Spring Neighborhood Center.

About 16,000 enrolled members of the Oneida Tribe of Indians received checks last week for either $5,000 or $10,000 before taxes after the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs signed off on a one-time payout. The members of the tribe are now trying to decide what they will do with the money. Read more in SBT's daily roundup of headlines from newspapers across the state at www.biztimes.com.

As taxes go up in Wisconsin, affluent people move out of the state, according to Sen. Mary Lazich, author of today's Milwaukee Biz Blog.

The BizTimes Stock Index gained .19 points to close at 165.53 Friday, but local stocks got off to a rocky start this week by falling in early morning trading today. The largest local decliners this morning were Bucyrus International Inc. (down $1.27 to $88.94) and Badger Meter Inc. (down $1.17 to $39.08). The largest local advancers this morning were Harley-Davidson Inc. (up $1.88 to $46.84) and Kohl's Corp. (up 73 cents to $47.42). 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.