The credit crunch is putting the squeeze on many local companies, who say they are finding it increasingly difficult to obtain financing for business expansions, even when they have expansion opportunities in hand. Meanwhile, lenders are raising the bar on commercial borrowers. Read more in the cover story in the print edition of this week's Small Business Times. Other highlights of this week's SBT include the Commercial Real Estate Spotlight, the Manufacturing Spotlight and a wealth manager's investor survival kit.

The stock market fluctuated wildly again this morning, just as it did Thursday, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average moved 816 points from its morning trough and staged a late-afternoon rally to close up 401.35 points.
The BizTimes Stock Index recovered 2.23 points from its all-time low to close at 97.63 Thursday, and local stocks also bounced around in this morning's volatile session. The largest local gainers this morning were Badger Meter Inc. (up $1.70 to $24.70) and Joy Global Inc. (up $1.49 to $26.29). The largest local decliners this morning were Snap-on Inc. (down $1.61 to $38.28) and Johnson Controls Inc. (down $1.14 to $18.70).
Meanwhile, billionaire investor Warren Buffett is buying U.S. stocks. In an opinion column in The New York Times, Buffet wrote, "A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful."
Buffett acknowledged the mess on Wall Street, the rising unemployment and the slowdown in business activity.
"What is likely, however, is that the market will move higher, perhaps substantially so, well before either sentiment or the economy turns up," wrote the founder of the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. investment empire. "So if you wait for the robins, spring will be over."
Buffet, known as the "Oracle of Omaha" and the "Billionaire Next Door," is one of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's top economic advisors.
President George W. Bush told the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., today that the nation's economic recovery will take time.
"The federal government has responded to this crisis with systematic and aggressive measures to protect the financial security of the American people. People look at this crisis and say, oh, it's only Wall Street. I don't think so. As a matter of fact, I know that if we had not acted it could affect the American people directly," Bush said. "The actions will take more time to have their full impact. It took a while for the credit system to freeze up; it's going to take a while for the credit system to thaw. These are decisive measures aimed at the heart of our financial challenges. And they're big enough and bold enough to work. And the American people can be confident that they will."

The global economic slowdown continued to take a toll on Wisconsin's financial services industry this week, and the carnage is reflected in the quarterly earning reports of MGIC Investment Corp., Associated Banc-Corp. and Bank Mutual Corp.
Milwaukee-based MGIC reported Thursday a third quarter net loss of $113.3 million, or 91 cents per share, which actually was an improvement over a net loss of $372.5 million, or $4.61 per share, for the same quarter a year ago. The company's total revenues for the quarter were $461.6 million, down 16.9 percent from $555.4 million in the third quarter of 2007.
Over the first nine months of 2008, MGIC has lost $245.6 million.
Curt Culver, chairman and chief executive officer of MGIC, said that the company's results continue to be negatively impacted by increased delinquencies and foreclosures that have resulted from deteriorating home prices, especially in California and Florida, as well as a weakening economy.
MGIC took losses and impairment charges of $34.9 million, which includes losses from fixed income investments in Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers and AIG.
Green Bay-based Associated Bank reported quarterly net income of $ 37.8 million, or 30 cents per share, which was down from $71.7 million, or 56 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
Associated incurred a charge of $13.6 million, or 7 cents per share after tax, related predominantly to preferred stock holdings of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Associated's provision for loan losses was $55 million and net charge offs were $38 million.
Milwaukee-based Bank Mutual Corp. reported quarterly net income of $1.6 million, or 3 cents per share, which was down from $3.7 million, or 7 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
Bank Mutual's earnings in the most recent quarter were impacted by a $2.3 million impairment loss on a mutual fund that invests in mortgage-related securities, a $1.4 million impairment loss related to Freddie Mac common stock and a $1 million loss provision related to a loan secured by a completed condominium development project.
Michael Crowley Jr., chairman, president and chief executive officer of Bank Mutual, said, "As our results this quarter will show, we have also felt the effects of the recent turmoil in the financial markets. However, once we filter through the 'noise' in our earnings, we are very pleased with our core results. We continue to believe that our capital strength, liquidity, asset quality, and cost efficiency set us apart from many of our competitors. We are also pleased to see continued improvement in our net interest margin in this difficult environment for financial institutions."
Earlier this week, Milwaukee-based Marshall & Ilsley Corp. reported third quarter net income of $83.1 million, or 32 cents per share, which was down 62.2 percent from $219.9 million, or 83 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.

Charles (Charley) Miller this afternoon will become the 36th person to take the oath of Postmaster since the Milwaukee Post Office was established in 1835.
The installation ceremony will take place at 2:30 p.m. at the Eisner Museum of Advertising & Design in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward.
Miller is responsible for mail delivery and retail sales at the main post office and 20 additional post offices within the Milwaukee city limits. The Milwaukee Post Office delivers more than a billion pieces of mail a year to more than 490,000 addresses and generates more than $400 million in sales from postage and related products and services.
Miller began his career with the U.S. Postal Service in 1984 as a letter carrier at the Gaffney Branch Post Office in St. Louis, Mo. He has advanced through positions of increased responsibility in the agency.

Modine Manufacturing Co. today reaffirmed a commitment to grow its global refrigerant components business through a series of strategic actions designed to leverage the company's leadership in condenser technology.
The steps will include major investments in European and North American operations and the creation of a new organizational structure to support global growth.
In early September, Modine broke ground on a new scale plant in Kottingbrunn, Austria, to meet increasing demand for condensers from European automotive customers. Production is scheduled to start in the new facility in July 2009, with work being moved, in phases, from Modine's existing facility in Berndorf, Austria, by November 2009. In addition, the company has committed additional financial resources to expand its North American condenser manufacturing capabilities.
The expansion will not have an impact on the company's headquarters in Racine, Modine spokesman Susan Fisher told SBT this morning.
"Modine has enjoyed a strong reputation in condenser technology dating back to the issuance of our first parallel flow (PF(TM) condenser patent in 1986," said Paul Byrne, Modine's managing director of Global Powertrain Cooling Products. "Recent developments in condenser technology, including our Origami next generation heat exchanger tube, have strengthened our competitive position and heightened the need to enhance our global capabilities and continue to expand our refrigerant-based product line."

MLG is the recipient of the 2008 Waukesha County Executive's Business of the Year Award from Waukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas.
The awards presentation was held Thursday at the Country Springs Grand Ballroom in Waukesha. MLG also won the award in 2003.
Tim Wallen, chief executive officer of MLG, said, "We are honored and energized to receive this award. It further motivates us to positively impact the region as a whole both in our business operations and our community involvement."
An independent panel of judges, which included business executives, community leaders and past award winners, selected MLG for many reasons, including the company's track record of customer satisfaction and benefits for employees, its achievements, its community initiatives and its dedication to land preservation.
To date, MLG has developed seven business parks in Waukesha and Milwaukee counties and has more than 275 commercial real estate listings in the two counties. MLG has also developed 13 residential subdivisions in Milwaukee and Waukesha counties. MLG manages more than 1.5 million square feet throughout Milwaukee and Waukesha counties.
Since its inception in 1987, MLG has grown to include NAI MLG Commercial, MLG Management, MLG Development, MLG Communities and MLG Capital. MLG now employs nearly 200 people in five states.

John Czarnecki of Grubb & Ellis/Apex Commercial is the recipient of the 2008 Realtor of the Year Award presented annually by the Commercial Association of Realtors Wisconsin (CARW).
The award is presented to a Realtor who is determined to have displayed the highest level of commitment to the advancement of the CARW though association and civic involvement.  Czarnecki was selected for "his vision and his unfailing leadership" in shaping the future of CARW and that of the commercial real estate industry. Czarnecki has more than eight years of experience in the industry and has served as the chair of the CARW Programs Committee for the past two years. As chairman of the committee, he has overseen the creation of the CARW Academy, which offers a variety of new and adapted opportunities for education and professional development.
Other recipients of CARW awards during a banquet on Thursday were:

• Affiliate of the Year -: Tom Halat of Titan Building Company for building strong coalitions amongst related commercial industries and organizations and for leadership in the industry's charitable arm, REACH (Real Estate Alliance for Charity).
• Retail Deal of the Year - Bruce Westling and Brian Vanevenhoven of NAI MLG Commercial for their leadership in retail leases for Urban Outfitters and American Apparel.  
• Office Deal of the Year - Kevin Armstrong, Steve White and Scott Furmanski of CB Richard Ellis for their leadership in the Independence First on First project.
• Industrial Deal of the Year - David Buckley and James T. Barry III of Colliers-Barry for their leadership in the We-Energies/First Industrial/Quad-Graphics project.
• Investment Deal of the Year - Scott Welsh, Lyle Landowski, Tom Shepherd, Mike Fardy and Steve Pape for their leadership in the Milwaukee Center investment sale.

The CARW also announced the installation of its 2008-2009 chairman and board of directors.
Barry Chavin of NAI MLG Commercial was inducted as CARW's 2008-09 chairman of the board. Furmanski will serve as chairman-elect, Barry willl be secretary and Czarnecki will be treasurer. Andrew Jensen of The Boerke Company is immediate past chairman.
Directors for 2008-2009 include: Fardy, Shepherd, Peter Ginn of First Industrial, Stephen Provancher of NAI MLG Commercial, Ned Purtell of RFP Commercial, Dan Rosenfeld of Mid-America Real Estate, Don Zien of CB Richard Ellis and Rich Tennessen of Eppstein Uhen Architects.

On Thursday, President George W. Bush signed legislation authorizing $13 billion over five years for passenger rail service. That includes $3.4 billion to create high-speed passenger rail corridors and other improvements. High-speed rail service between Chicago and the Twin Cities could begin within five years, U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) said this week. Oberstar, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, led House efforts to get the legislation passed. Randy Wade, passenger rail manager with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, said he hopes Wisconsin can obtain federal funds next year for improvements necessary for high-speed rail service between Milwaukee and Madison. "Now we've got a funding program," he said of the new federal legislation. High-speed service between Milwaukee and Madison could be at least three years away, once federal funds are obtained, Wade said. Read more in SBT's daily roundup of headlines from newspapers across the state at www.biztimes.com/#news.

China's struggle to define itself today is similar to what the United States experienced after its Revolutionary War. The models and dreams America adopted defined us as a people and a nation. How China articulates and presents its new order is as important to China and its people as it is to the rest of the world. Read more in the latest edition of SBT correspondent Einar Tangen's Dispatches From China.

Tempo Envision and Small Business Times recently hosted the annual Pulse leadership event featuring Chris Flett, author of “What Men Don't Tell Women about Business,” at Country Springs Hotel in Waukesha. To view a photographic slideshow of the event, visit the latest edition of SBT Around Town.

Busy readers of the BizTimes Daily can get a jumpstart on the Gallery Night weekend ahead by reading the OnMilwaukee.com Weekend Preview. OnMilwaukee.com is a media partner of Small Business Times.

A bipartisan agreement helps Wisconsin grow its cranberry harvesting industry, according to State Sen. Mary Lazich, author of today's Milwaukee Biz Blog.