The stock market plunged this morning after absorbing the news that the federal government will provide an $85 billion loan to bail out American International Group Inc. (AIG).
The Dow Jones Industrials Average fell by nearly 400 points this morning after it had regained some ground Tuesday afternoon in the aftermath of Monday's 504-point collapse.
The Dow has fallen more than 23 percent since reaching a record close of 14,164.53 on Oct. 9 last year.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Commerce Department reported today that home building tumbled again in August, with the national number of new building permits for single-family homes dropping to a 26-year low.
Locally, stocks in the BizTimes Stock Index dropped with the broader market this morning, with decliners far outnumbering advancers. The largest local decliners this morning were Bucyrus International Inc. (down $2.81 to $43.25), Brady Corp. (down $2.49 to $33.16), Badger Meter Inc. (down $2.30 to $45.00) and Joy Global Inc. (down $2.21 to $49.40). Only a handful of local stocks escaped the carnage, led by Koss Corp. (up 63 cents to $15.52) and Briggs & Stratton Corp. (up 45 cents to $17.71).

Commercial real estate developers, brokers and property owners are encouraged to nominate their best sites for consideration in the annual BizTimes Honor Roll of Prime Leasable Commercial Real Estate.
The directory will include the best leasable office, retail and manufacturing sites in southeastern Wisconsin, including Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee, Washington, Racine, Kenosha, Walworth and Sheboygan counties.
The guide will be included in the annual BizTimes Commercial Real Estate & Development Book and will be unveiled at the BizTimes Commercial Real Estate & Development Conference on Wednesday, Nov. 14.
To nominate a site, visit www.biztimes.com/site/honorroll. To register to attend the conference, click here.

Waste Management of Wisconsin has set a deadline of 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 21, for Teamsters Union Local 200 to act upon the company's "last, best and final" contract offer.
Waste Management officials say they are making reluctantly after a week of inaction by
union officials to the company's offer that was made on Sept. 10.
"We're eager to get our employees off the picket lines and back on the job," said Michael Fleming, market area general manager for Waste Management. "We put a generous package on the table that we think our employees have a right to learn about and vote on."
Members of Local 200 have been on strike since Aug. 26. Union officials have yet to schedule a membership vote on the contract proposal by Waste Management.
Waste Management's proposed five-year contract would cover drivers, equipment operators and mechanics represented by Teamsters Local 200. The company said the offer includes significant wage increases, along with an improved health plan, double-time pay on Sundays and holidays, and increased tool and uniform allowances.
The package also would create a new 401(k) defined contribution pension plan and would relieve the company of obligations to the Teamsters-led Central States Pension Fund.
A Teamster spokesman declined comment on the company's deadline this morning.

A development plan for the southeast side of the City of Milwaukee has been drafted and will be presented at an open house on Thursday, Sept. 18, from 4 to 7 p.m. at The Loft at Hide House, 2625 S Greeley St.

The plan also can be viewed by visiting the Department of City Development website: www.mkedcd.org/planning.

The plan includes a variety of elements, including:

• A town center on Layton & Howell to serve the General Mitchell International Airport.
• Redevelopment of a former Army Reserve Site in Bay View to multi-family or senior housing. Public focus sessions and a market study identified a critical need for additional senior housing on the southeast side.
• Redevelopment of underutilized riverfront land along the Kinnickinnic River to create a green, accessible waterway as a focus for public use and economic development.

A.O. Smith Corp. today announced plans to locate the headquarters of its A.O. Smith India Water Heating Private Limited venture near Bangalore, where it plans to begin construction of a residential water heater manufacturing plant.
Design work on the 76,000-square-foot facility will begin in the fourth quarter. Construction is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2010.
The plant will initially employ approximately 100 employees, according to Ajita Rajendra, president of A.O. Smith Water Products Company.
"We selected Bangalore for a number of strategic reasons," he said. "The city is centrally located in one of our key target markets in India with a growing consumer class interested in premium water heating solutions. The local infrastructure will be able to support our distribution needs."
The plant and the company's India corporate offices will be located on 20 acres in the Harohalli Karnataka Industrial Area just outside of Bangalore.
The manufacturing operation will be designed to assemble glass-lined residential water heaters in sizes ranging from six liters up to 100 liters.

Brady Corp. today reported record fiscal fourth quarter results. The Milwaukee-based company's quarterly net income was up 33 percent to $34.8 million, or 64 cents per share, from $26.2 million, 48 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
Last year's fourth quarter included cost reduction charges of $5.4 million after taxes.
Brady's sales in the quarter rose 9 percent to $396.8 million from $362.8 million a year earlier. The company said its acquisition growth added 3 percent of its sales growth, and foreign currency translation with the weaker U.S. dollar contributed 6 percent of its sales growth. The firm's organic growth was flat compared with the prior year's quarter.
"We are very pleased with our results in fiscal 2008, especially in light of the challenging economic environment. Of particular note is Asia's return to core growth in the fourth quarter with total segment sales up 20 percent and profit up 40 percent following a deliberate re-focus on higher margin products and the success of our cost-control efforts put in place last fiscal year," said Brady president and chief executive officer Frank Jaehnert.

To accommodate its growing base of clients in the region and the hiring of additional staff members, RSM McGladrey has moved its offices from the Milwaukee's north side to 411 E. Wisconsin Ave., Suite 1850, in downtown Milwaukee.
"We've added three more executive-level professionals in recent months, bringing to nearly two dozen the number of professionals in the McGladrey Milwaukee office, and approximately 150 in the state. Our rate of growth so far in fiscal 2009 is almost 40 percent," said Lori Stortz, managing partner of RSM McGladrey's Milwaukee office. "These numbers reflect McGladrey's strong commitment to the Milwaukee business community and to being the best middle market firm in Wisconsin. We're excited about our new office space and its great location, and looking forward to being an integral part of the downtown area business community."
Milwaukee is part of McGladrey's Great Lakes Economics Unit, which has a total of approximately 1,500 professionals in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan.
An open house will be held in the new offices on Wednesday, Sept. 24, from 4 to 7:30 p.m.
Bloomington, Minn.-based McGladrey is the fifth-largest accounting, tax and business consulting firm in the country.

Although the Future 50 Luncheon on Thursday is sold out, readers of the BizTimes Daily are invited to attend the special breakout sessions for growing companies to be held after the program.
The breakout sessions will feature panel discussions among the leaders of some of the region's fastest-growing companies and some of the top executive consultants in the area.
The topics for the sessions will include: "Growing When the Economy is Not;" "Growing Pains - Making the Critical Business Decisions;" "Lessons from the Trenches: A Panel Discussion with Future 50 Master Mettle Winners;" and "Financing Your Future Growth."
The discussions will be held in two concurrent sessions, beginning at 1:45 and 2:45 p.m. at the Italian Community Center in Milwaukee.
The Future 50 program and the breakout sessions are presented by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) and its Council of Small Business Executives (COSBE) at the Italian Community Center in Milwaukee.
People attending the Future 50 Luncheon can register at the event to attend the breakout sessions afterward. However, attendees of the breakout session need not attend the Future 50 Luncheon.
To register to attend the breakout sessions, contact the MMAC.

Aurora Health Care announced today that Milwaukee attorney and community leader John Daniels Jr. and Minneapolis nursing educator Joanne Disch, Ph.D., R.N., have been added to the nonprofit organization’s board of directors.
Daniels is chairman of Quarles & Brady LLP, a Milwaukee-based law firm. He has experience serving national, regional, local and governmental owners and investors in real estate.
"I have long admired Aurora’s commitment to meeting the needs of the communities it serves, especially those neighborhoods that are continually challenged with a lack of resources," Daniels said. "At a time when many families are facing greater economic challenges, I welcome an opportunity to help Aurora continue its leadership in delivering high-quality, cost-effective care for the people of eastern Wisconsin."
Disch has national experience as an educator, chief nurse executive, researcher and policy maker.
"Aurora is recognized around the country as a leading health care provider and has developed a reputation for finding new ways to help nurses deliver care in a fast-changing environment," Disch said. "I look forward to working with the organization to meet the challenges ahead, particularly with regard to addressing the needs of the rapidly expanding older adult population."
The appointments of Daniels and Disch were announced today at Aurora’s annual board meeting.
"We are fortunate to have people of the caliber of John Daniels and Joanne Disch joining our board," said Nick Turkal, M.D., Aurora’s president and chief executive officer. "Their experiences in addressing the needs of urban communities and older adults at the local and national levels will be of enormous benefit as we look for creative solutions to the challenges of delivering health care in the years ahead."

Expanding business opportunities for Wisconsin's minority-owned companies will be the focus of Marketplace 2008, the 27th annual Governor's Conference on Minority Business Development.
The conference will take place on Thursday, Oct. 2, at the Wyndham Milwaukee Airport & Convention Center in Milwaukee. The event also will recognize the winners of the 2008 Wisconsin Minority Business Awards at the Governor’s awards luncheon.
"Marketplace 2008 is a great opportunity for businesses to learn how to increase access to capital," said Aaron Olver, deputy secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Commerce. "It’s also a wonderful showcase for their unique products and services to government procurement officers and corporate buyers.”
The keynote speaker of the event will be Mike Thompson, president and chief executive officer of Fair Oaks Farms LLC.
Attendees will also have an opportunity to meet and speak with the new Commerce Secretary Richard "Dick" Leinenkugel.
For more information about Marketplace 2008, visit  http://marketplace.wi.gov.

The World Trade Center Wisconsin invites Milwaukee-area businesses to a networking reception with executives from 14 Chinese companies involved in the automotive industry next week.
The reception will be held on Friday, Sept. 26, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Milwaukee 7 Resource Room at We Energies, 231 W. Michigan Ave. There is no fee to attend the reception, but advance registration is required.
The companies represented in the delegation are assessing opportunities for new business partnerships in the Midwest, said Christian Bartley, chief executive officer of World Trade Center Wisconsin. The executives are interested in meeting companies from many sectors, including service providers such as banks, law firms, accountants and logistics.
"The world recognizes the array of business opportunities that exist in the Milwaukee region and Wisconsin as a whole," Bartley said.
For more information about the Chinese trade mission or to register for the networking session, call World Trade Center Wisconsin at (414) 274-3840.
World Trade Center Wisconsin will host another inbound trade mission later this month, when a delegation from South Africa arrives in Milwaukee. For more information, visit www.wistrade.org.

Stevens Point officials say the new $20 million AIG Travel Guard headquarters will be built regardless of its parent companies' financial woes. The U.S. government agreed late Tuesday to provide an $85 billion emergency loan to rescue the insurance behemoth. Read more in SBT's daily roundup of headlines from newspapers across the state at www.biztimes.com/#news.

FastPark, a Cincinnati-based off-site airport parking company, has completed its acquisition of the Central Parking Systems facility near General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee.
FastPark announced today that it has rebranded the facility, located at 5201 S. Howell Ave., with new signage and shuttle buses.
The company also has made beautification and maintenance upgrades to the grounds of the facility, including new landscaping and fencing.
FastPark is one of the largest off-site airport parking companies in the United States. It controls 19 facilities on more than 21 million square feet of land.
"We didn't hesitate at the opportunity to introduce and expand our brand into Wisconsin," said Manuel Chavez III, chief operations officer for FastPark. "This acquisition is part of FastPark's ongoing focus of developing and expanding our services throughout the United States."

The developer of the proposed Palomar hotel and condominium project in downtown Milwaukee's Park East corridor is reconsidering plans to apply for tax incremental financing (TIF) from the city. Read more in the new edition of the BizTimes Real Estate Weekly bulletin.

Dan and Kim Burkwald hosted a "Meet the Dean" reception at their lakefront home in Hartland recently for members of the Medical College of Wisconsin's Cancer, Cardiovascular and Digestive Disease Centers' citizen advisory boards to meet the school's new dean and executive vice president, Jonathan Ravdin, M.D. To view a photographic slideshow of the event, visit the latest edition of SBT Around Town.

Wisconsin's new "Originality Rules" brand is a winning strategy for the state, according to Kelli Trumble, secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Tourism and author of today's Milwaukee Biz Blog.