JPMorgan Securities analyst Jamie Baker upgraded Orlando-based AirTran Holdings Inc. to "overweight" from "neutral," according to an Associated Press report. AirTran stock is now an attractive buy Baker said and he expects the company's fiscal earnings for 2007 to beat consensus estimates.
AirTran is pursuing a hostile takeover of Oak Creek-based Midwest Air Group Inc.. The company is trying to purchase Midwest for $13.25 per share in cash and AirTran stock. But Baker said he believes AirTran's takeover attempt of Midwest is "doomed to fail," according to the AP report.
Shares of AirTran stock rose 51 cents this morning in early morning trading today to $10.55 a share and shares of Midwest Air Group stock rose 44 cents in early morning trading today to $12.12 per share.

Milwaukee-based Towne Investments announced today that it plans to build two speculative industrial buildings in the LakeView Corporate Park in Pleasant Prairie.
One of the buildings will have 82,860 square feet of space, and the other will have 50,000 square feet of space. Groundbreaking is expected in May for both buildings, and construction is expected to be complete in October.
The buildings will be available for sale or lease. Chicago-based Lee & Associates is the broker for both buildings.
The buildings will be built on part of a 38-acre property that Towne recently purchased from Centerpoint Wispark Land Company LLC.
LakeView CorporatePark is a 2,391-acre master-planned, mixed-use development with industrial, office and retail property. The corporate park has attracted several businesses from the Chicago area. As the Chicago area continues to grow, the amount of land available for industrial development continues to shrink and more firms from that area are moving into Kenosha County, which also offers lower land costs, energy costs, property taxes and labor costs than much of the Chicago area.
"Construction of these buildings is the result of the high level of activity and demand we are seeing in the I-94 corridor," said John Kersey, director of Towne Investments. "It also represents our commitment to maximize the development potential that exists within this geographic area. This area is particularly attractive to companies in Chicago's north suburban marketplace seeking real economic value. The location offers easy interstate access, growth potential and an appealing labor supply."
Towne also announced that Lee & Associates will be brokering the sale and/or build-to-suit opportunities for about 30 acres of additional land owned by Towne in LakeView corporate park.
Towne Investments is the trade name under which Milwaukee-based Zilber Ltd. markets its commercial investment portfolio.

The Hofbrauhaus microbrewery and restaurant, which Cincinnati Restaurant Group Inc. plans to open in the former Pabst brewery complex in downtown Milwaukee, should open by summer of 2008 said Jim Haertel, president of Brew City Redevelopment Group LLC and owner of the building that the Hofbrauhaus will be located in. Read more in the new edition of the Small Business Times Real Estate Weekly bulletin.

Milwaukee-based Journal Communications Inc. announced today that for the second period ended Feb. 25 total revenues for its publishing and broadcast groups were $39.28 million, down 3.5 percent compared to $40.7 million for the second period of the previous year.
For the second period of 2007, the company's advertising revenues of $32.64 million decreased 4.6 percent compared to $34.23 million for the 2006 second period.
Both periods were 28 days long.
The company's total revenues and advertising revenues in the second period of 2006 were stronger because of $1.82 million in television advertising revenue from the first ten days of last year's Winter Olympics, the company reported.
For the second period, revenues at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the company's community newspapers and shoppers totaled $22.94 million, down 4.4 percent from $24.01 million. Advertising revenue was $16.31 million, down 7 percent from $17.54 million. Circulation revenue of $4 million was down 6 percent from $4.26 million. Other revenue of $2.63 million was up 19 percent.
For the company's broadcasting segment, total revenue at its radio and television stations of $16.34 million decreased 2.1 percent compared to $16.7 million for the 2006 second period. At the radio group, revenue was $5.85 million, up 8.5 percent compared to $5.39 million. At the television group, revenue decreased 7.2 percent to $10.49 million compared to $11.31 million during last year's second period, which included $1.82 million from the first ten days of the Winter Olympics.

The Biztimes Stock Index rose 2.87 to close at 176.50 Monday, but local stocks fell back this morning with decliners outnumbering gainers. The largest local decliners this morning were Marcus Corp. (down 73 cents to $20.58) and Manpower Inc. (down 46 cents to $73.82). The largest local gainers this morning were MGIC Investment Corp. (up $1.36 to $60.27) and Ladish Co. (up 62 cents to $39.67). 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.

Gov. Jim Doyle wants to allow Milwaukee to establish a "premier resort area" for a four-square-mile area of the city to add an extra tax on the sale of tourism-related goods. We need more information to determine if this new tax mechanism would actually grow our local tourism economy or create a "tax island" that, along with other proposed taxes, could ultimately impede efforts to attract more visitors to the area says Doug Neilson, president and CEO of VISIT Milwaukee and author of today's Milwaukee Biz Blog. Neilson also says the community must seriously consider the idea of expanding the Midwest Airlines Center.