Defying the locally perceived template that Wisconsin is not a good place to do business, both Madison and Milwaukee ranked among the top 20 metro areas in the country for business, according to this year’s study by MarketWatch.com.
For the survey, MarketWatch scored the nation's 101 biggest metro areas - those with a population of more than 500,000 - on 10 metrics each. Five metrics measured the number of companies per capita in a metro area for a company concentration score. The remaining five metrics looked at the employment picture, growth and GDP for an economic stability score. The two scores were added together for a final tally. The highest tally went to Des Moines, Iowa, with 851 points, and the lowest was Youngstown, Ohio, with 164 points.
Madison ranked 12th 703 points, scoring particularly high in economic stability. Madison’s economy has been fueled by private sector growth in technology and biomedicine spurred by research at the University of Wisconsin.
Milwaukee ranked 20th with 643 points, scoring particularly high in company concentration. Milwaukee is home to publicly traded global manufacturers such as Johnson Controls Inc., Manpower Inc., Harley-Davidson Inc., Joy Global Inc., Bucyrus International Inc. and Rockwell Automation Inc., in addition to financial companies such as Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. and Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc.
Des Moines ranked the highest, replacing Minneapolis-St. Paul, which had topped the charts in the first two years of the rankings.
For additional information, including a map of the ranked cities, click here.

In an attempt to serve a growing market of Wisconsinites looking for less expensive options for basic individual health care coverage, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Wisconsin today introduced new CoreShare and enhanced SmartSense and Premier individual plans that will provide Wisconsinites with lower-cost options.
The plans are designed to appeal to the self-employed, to people between jobs, to people who have no health benefits at work or to people who want to retire early.
"CoreShare is a simple plan design with some of our lowest rates, with premiums ranging from as little as $45 to $104 per month for a healthy 25-year old male in the Milwaukee area," said Larry Schreiber, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Wisconsin. "CoreShare is for consumers who want a traditional plan but at a lower cost. With a vast range of deductibles and higher cost-sharing, CoreShare helps lower monthly premiums. It provides full major medical coverage, while giving out-of-pocket protection, and protection against unexpected health care costs."
CoreShare offers a range of deductibles and coinsurance levels. The lower deductible levels have 50 percent coinsurance, while the higher deductibles pay 100 percent of the charges once the deductible has been met.
For additional information on the new individual plans, visit at www.anthem.com.

Joy Global Inc., a Milwaukee-based mining equipment manufacturer, today reported a strong fourth quarter that led the company to a record fiscal year.
The company’s net income for the quarter was $124 million, or $1.20 per fully diluted share, compared with $118 million, or $1.11 per share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008. The firm’s net sales for the quarter decreased by 7 percent to $964 million from $1.0 billion in the same period a year earlier.
For the full 2009 fiscal year, Joy Global’s net sales were $3.6 billion, up from $3.4 billion in fiscal 2008, an increase of 5 percent. Net sales for the company’s Underground Mining Machinery segment increased by 11 percent, primarily the result of increased original equipment shipments to the United States underground coal markets. The company’s Surface Mining Equipment segment saw a 6 percent decrease in sales, primarily due to production slot adjustments resulting from the cancellation of machines for the North American copper and iron ore markets and a slight decline in aftermarket sales associated with softness early in the fiscal year for copper, iron ore and oil sands end markets.
"We continued to deliver exceptional performance in our fourth quarter, and finished our fiscal year with record revenues, earnings, and profitability," said Mike Sutherlin, president and chief executive officer of Joy Global. "In addition, our process improvement efforts have delivered the second consecutive quarter of reduced inventory levels. With the help of higher profits and lower inventories, cash from operations was strong despite reduced customer deposits, and we finished the year with substantially lower net debt. We delivered performance that was exceptional and balanced, and we enter next year a much stronger company with more efficient processes, a healthy balance sheet and improved liquidity."

A new 20-megawatt wind farm, featuring eight wind turbines, is being developed in Glenmore, Wis., located near Green Bay.
The project, called the Shirley Wind Farm, will generate nearly 64 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually, which is enough to power about 8,000 homes and displace an estimated 55,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions.
Nordex USA Inc. today announced an order for eight N100 wind turbines for the project, which is being developed by Hubertus-based Emerging Energies of Wisconsin. The CH Energy Group, owner of the New York utility Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp., holds a controlling interest in the project via its unregulated subsidiary Central Hudson Enterprises.
"The project debuts some of the most advanced turbines in the U.S.," said Ralf Sigrist, president and chief executive officer of Nordex USA. "It's been a pleasure partnering with Emerging Energies to provide the best technology for the site, designed to make the absolute most of Glenmore's wind resources."
The project represents a shift in the U.S. market toward larger turbines with higher efficiencies and yields. In 2008, the average installed turbine was 1.67 megawatts. Nordex built the first 2.5-megawatt turbine in 2000 and has the longest track record for reliability in the multi-megawatt class, with over 1,000 installed worldwide.
"We looked very carefully at the N80/N90/N100 Nordex turbines and were convinced by their great track record, along with the quality and experience Nordex brings to the market," said Bill Rakocy, one of three founders of Emerging Energies of Wisconsin. "We selected the N100s because they accomplish two critical project goals -- maximizing available land and wind resources by using the largest, tallest turbines available. We're excited to introduce them in the U.S. and in Wisconsin."
Nordex will deliver and install the turbines in the third quarter of 2010, with project completion slated for the fourth quarter. The order also includes maintenance and technical operation under a 10 year service contract. The project carries a 20-year power purchase agreement contract with Wisconsin Public Service Corp.

The proposed $93 million redevelopment and expansion of the Edgewater Hotel in downtown Madison, proposed by Brookfield-based Hammes Co., may be dead. After nine hours of testimony and debate, the Madison City Council early this morning narrowly refused to overturn a Landmarks Commission decision that has effectively blocked the project. Read more in BizTimes Milwaukee’s headlines from around the state at http://www.biztimes.com/#news.

The stock market rose modestly this morning on the news that housing construction rebounded strongly in November, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. The department’s report also said building permits, single-family groundbreakings and apartment construction increased.
Local stocks in the BizTimes Stock Index were led this morning by Manpower Inc. (up 82 cents to $56.73) and Snap-on Inc. (up 52 cents to $40.49). The largest local decliners this morning were Joy Global Inc. (down 38 cents to $54.93) and Koss Corp. (down 20 cents to $5.60).
BizTimes Real Estate Weekly: National Realtor says housing market will rebound in 2010
Dr. Lawrence Yun, the senior vice president and chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, says the housing market in Wisconsin and the United States bottomed out in the third quarter and will improve modestly in 2010. “I think the bottom of the housing market has already occurred,” he said. “Prices are lower compared to a year ago, but things have stabilized. With the homebuyer tax credit, the market should be even stronger in the spring buying season,” Yun told BizTimes. Read more about his forecast in the new edition of the BizTimes Real Estate Weekly bulletin.

Read the results of recent BizTimes.com reader surveys about the issues of the day in today’s Milwaukee Biz Blog by executive editor Steve Jagler.

It’s official: There will be no NASCAR race at The Milwaukee Mile in 2010.

After six months of negotiations with potential promoters for The Milwaukee Mile, the Wisconsin State Fair Park board of directors announced today that no agreements could be reached to bring a national race to the historic track in West Allis.

The board issued the following statement today:

“For the past seven years, the Wisconsin State Fair Park Board has been committed to maintaining and underwriting national racing at the historic Milwaukee Mile racetrack. Since 2003, the Fair Park has subsidized race operations from $1.0 million to $3.0 million each year. This money has come from revenue generated by visitors to the State Fair and other events held at the Park. The Fair Park has invested these substantial amounts in an effort to keep two national race weekends at The Mile. However, even the profitable NASCAR race weekend does not generate sufficient revenue to cover the costs of the other races as well as promoter operating expenses. It saddens us to say there will not be a national race held at The Milwaukee Mile for the 2010 season.
“The Fair Park Board has spent the last six months in negotiations with four potential promoters. Significant financial concessions have been made by the Fair Park in the last four race seasons, with a reduction in the licensing fee from $1.8 million in 2006 to a proposed $90,000 license fee in 2010. Since IRL notified us that a 2010 race would not take place at the Mile, the Board has concentrated its efforts on finding a promoter for 2010 that would meet NASCAR’s qualifications.
“The three potential promoters that submitted letters of interest to the Fair Park were unable to secure a NASCAR contract. The Fair Park was not a party to negotiations, but financing and other issues came into play. For example, the Fair Park learned from confidential sources that one group had no interest in contracting with NASCAR in 2010 and the membership of that group was different than what was publicly stated. NASCAR referred the Board to a fourth group that had extensive experience and knowledge of racing, marketing, and operations.
“On December 13, that fourth potential promoter, although very interested, declined to move ahead with the contract because the margin for profitability was too thin. Any possibility for a profitable operation would be eliminated if the promoter accepted liability for future track improvements. While the Fair Park will continue to fund $1.5 million each year of track debt service, regardless of whether there is a national race, the Fair Park cannot take on the financial responsibility for additional track improvements.
"The current economic state including a decline in sports and entertainment sponsorship fees, less broadcasting revenue, decreasing ticket sales and increasing costss all combined to make operations in 2010 impossible for any promoter.
“Racing and events will continue at The Milwaukee Mile in 2010 with car clubs and driving schools. The Fair Park Board is open to adding regional races and other events to the 2010 schedule while it continues its efforts to find a qualified promoter and have The Milwaukee Mile back on the 2011 NASCAR and IRL race schedules.”