The new edition of BizTimes Milwaukee features the publication’s annual Economic Trends special report. The consensus forecast from economists, analysts, CEOs and local business organizations is that the worst is behind us and the recovery has begun. The recovery will not be rapid and it will not be universal, but it will gain some momentum in 2010, according to the experts. Read more in the new edition of BizTimes, which features outlooks for the overall economy, the stock market, manufacturing, the banking industry, retail sales, real estate, the M&A market, health care, the job market, technology, financial regulations, the insurance industry and sustainability. The forecasts were first unveiled at the Northern Trust Economic Trends Breakfast on Friday.

In his first State of the Union address Wednesday night, President Barack Obama will unveil several new initiatives designed to help American middle class families recover from the Great Recession.
According to the White House, the proposals will include: nearly doubling the child and dependent care tax credit for middle class families making less than $85,000 a year; limiting a student's federal loan payments to 10 percent of his or her income; creating automatic workplace individual retirement accounts (IRAs); and expanding support for families caring for elderly relatives.
"The additional steps laid out today focus on easing the burdens on middle class families who are struggling in this economy, and providing the help they need to get ahead," Obama said in a statement today.
The president also is expected to announce in his address some initiatives to boost small businesses.

The stock market rebounded today after a three-day slide last week.
Buyers were busy on Wall Street this morning, even though sales of U.S. existing homes plunged 16.7 percent in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.45 million from 6.54 million in November, as the first-time homebuyer’scredit was set to expire.
The 16.7-percent decline from November to December was the largest monthly dip on record, dating back to 1968, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported.
Still, sales in December were up 15 percent compared with December 2008.
The median sales price rose to $178,300 in December, up 1.5 percent compared with a year earlier. It's the first year-over-year increase in prices since August 2007.
For all of 2009, home sales increased 4.9 percent to 5.16 million compared with 2008. "The market is going through a period of swings driven by the tax credit," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the NAR. "We're likely to have another surge in the spring … Job creation is the key to a continued recovery in the second half of the year.”
The tax credit has been extended until June and expanded to cover repeat buyers, but buyers did not know the credit would be extended when they were shopping for homes in October.
The largest local gainers in the BizTimes Stock Index this morning were Johnson Controls Inc. (up 94 cents to $30.42) and Rockwell Automation Inc. 9up 62 cents to $46.67). The largest local decliners this morning were Manpower Inc. (down 67 cents to $51.84) and Strattec Security Corp. (down 58 cents to $20.25).

The December 2009 passenger count at General Mitchell International Airport was the busiest on record for the month of December.
The December total of 728,067 passengers was an increase of 33.91 percent over the previous December’s 543,679 passengers and was the first time more than 700,000 passengers used the airport in the month of December.
For the year 2009, Mitchell’s passenger total declined 0.13 percent from 2008’s record number. Passenger totals for each of the first eight months of 2009 decreased as a result of flight reductions at Mitchell and airports throughout the U.S. Each of the last four months of the year was a record for that month, however, with enough passengers to bring the 2009 passenger count, at 7.9 million, to just a fraction off the 2008 record.
Nationwide, passenger traffic declined 6 percent in 2009 compared with 2008, according to the Air Transport Association.
Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker said, “AirTran, Midwest, Frontier and Delta all added flights to Mitchell in 2009, and with the startup of Southwest Airlines in November, the airport served 600,683 more passengers in the final four months of the year than in the same period of 2008. It was a phenomenal closeout to the year.”
Airport director Barry Bateman said, “The number of passengers from northern Illinois and the northern Chicago suburbs taking advantage of Mitchell’s low-fare service continues to grow. For the last six months of 2009, the number of Illinois cars in our parking areas averaged over 10 percent. Milwaukee/Chicago is a busy region for air travel, and Mitchell International has become one of the most price-competitive airports in the nation.”
With 48 markets, Mitchell International has moved up to 28th among U.S. airports in number of markets served nonstop, according to new data published by the Brookings Institute. Mitchell’s rank in a similar 2004 study was 34th.

Common Ground, a Milwaukee-based grassroots organization, today called for three of the nation’s largest banks to take “responsible” action to address the problem of vacant foreclosed homes in southeastern Wisconsin.
The organization is calling for Deutsche Bank, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo banks to act responsibly with the hundreds of properties where they are owners or trustees. 
For 18 months, more than 250 Common Ground leaders have studied the foreclosure crisis in Milwaukee. The organization said the three large national banks own or are trustees for hundreds of foreclosed properties throughout the region and state.
The properties, many vacant and abandoned, cause problems in the communities, including safety issues for citizens and public servants, neighborhood deterioration, increased taxes and declining property values.
Common Ground wants the banks to sell the homes responsibly, tear down the blighted houses and fix the salvageable houses.
Common Ground is a four-county, broad-based organization with members from diverse racial, ethnic, religious and political persuasions focused on creating solutions to challenges facing communities throughout southeastern Wisconsin. Common Ground is affiliated with the Industrial Areas Foundation.

S.C. Johnson & Son Inc. today opened its new Fortaleza Hall for employees today in Racine.
A testament to S.C. Johnson's company history, the new building stands next to the world famous Frank Lloyd Wright designs on the company's international headquarters.
Spherical in shape and made primarily of glass, Fortaleza Hall houses a full-size twin-engine S-38 amphibious plane suspended to simulate it in flight which can be viewed by all passers-by.
"This building is intended to inspire us, to be a special place to remind us of our sense of adventure," said chairman and chief executive officer Fisk Johnson, the fifth-generation leader of the company. "It is a symbol of our unique history of innovation, creativity and progressive attitude. My family wanted this to be a jewel for our community. Imagine a little boy or a little girl looking out a car window seeing that sight of the brightly colored S-38 amphibious plane soaring and in their minds being transported somewhere else by the adventure and romance of it all."
The Fortaleza Hall construction marks the first major new construction on the company's international headquarters since Frank Lloyd Wright first designed and developed the Administration Building and Great Workroom, which opened in 1939, and the Research Tower, which opened in 1950.
The new building was designed by London-based Foster + Partners. It is the first structure designed by Foster in the Upper Midwest.
The new building offers visitors a chance to come together to learn more about the SC Johnson company and provides employees with a central place for company amenities. The 60,000-square-foot building features displays and memorabilia, the Frank Lloyd Wright Library and Legacy Gallery; and a second part The Commons, which offers employee services like dining, concierge services, company store, bank and fitness center in a comfortable environment.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against Dean Foods on Friday, challenging the company’s April 2009 acquisition of Foremost Farms USA's Consumer Products Division.
The acquisition included two dairy processing facilities in Waukesha and DePere.
Federal and state officials believe the acquisition eliminated competition between the two companies in the sale of milk to schools, grocery stores, convenience stores and other retailers in Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. The Department of Justice was joined by the state attorneys general from Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin in the suit.
Dean Foods and Foremost Farms were the first- and fourth-largest milk processors in northeastern Illinois, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Wisconsin, federal officials said. Dean Foods now has approximately 57 percent of the market for processed milk in northeastern Illinois, the UP and Wisconsin.
In its suit, the Department of Justice seeks to force Dean Foods to sell the assets it purchased from Foremost Farms.
Dallas-based Dean Foods said it plans to fight the antitrust suit.
“The company believes that, from the time of the acquisition almost a year ago, this transaction has benefitted Wisconsin dairy farmers by providing a stable and growing outlet for their milk,” the company said in a news release. “In addition, the transaction already has produced important cost savings that will benefit customers and spur competition in and around Wisconsin. It promises to deliver even greater customer benefits once the DePere and Waukesha plants are fully integrated into the Dean network. The company believes an objective judicial review of the facts will reveal that competition is alive and flourishing in Wisconsin.”

Kohl's Department Stores /quotes/comstock/13*!kss/quotes/nls/kss is partnering with Junior Achievement of Wisconsin Inc. and donating $3 million over the next three years to create a new interactive learning facility, the Kohl's Education Center.
The new center will open later this year. Programs that will be housed in the new facility will provide approximately 45,000 Milwaukee-area fourth through tenth grade students over the next three years with a unique, hands-on opportunity to learn work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy.
The donation comes from the Kohl's Cares for Kids program, which sells special merchandise, including plush toys and books, and donates 100 percent of the net profit to benefit children's health and education initiatives nationwide.
"The Milwaukee area is home for Kohl's, and we are proud to be able to give back and build health and education programs for kids here in the local community," said Julie Gardner, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Menomonee Falls-based Kohl’s. "Junior Achievement is a premier organization and these new programs create a fun, interactive way for kids to learn about real-life financial decisions, transactions and how to spend within a budget. They will build practical tools and skills they need to succeed as tomorrow's workforce, consumers and leaders."
The programs work with local schools and teachers to combine classroom learning with real-world situations, providing hands-on activities and full simulation experiences to engage different learning styles and enhance what students learn in a classroom. The goal is for students to learn practical skills around work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy.
Site locations for the Kohl's Education Center are currently being evaluated.
"We are thrilled that Kohl's is supporting Junior Achievement. This gift ensures students during the next school year will have the opportunity to experience JA BizTown and JA Finance Park," said Tim Greinert, president of Junior Achievement of Wisconsin Inc. "We've seen the success of these programs and are thankful for the generosity from Kohl's. We know that students will benefit from these programs and look forward to the grand opening."

Miller High Life, the beer that surprised America last year with its one-second Super Bowl commercial, will call for a “time-out for common sense” during the game this year by giving air-time to four small businesses from around the country.
The 30-second spot will feature the owners of Del's Barber Shop in Escondido, Calif., Tim's Baseball Card Shop in Chicago, Ill., Loretta's Authentic Pralines in New Orleans, La., Bizarre Guitar & Drum in Phoenix, Ariz. as well as Windell Middlebrooks, the actor who portrays Miller High Life's no-nonsense deliveryman.
It will air in major markets during the Super Bowl on Feb. 7.
"Miller High Life is all about common sense and nothing makes more sense than giving deserving small businesses the opportunity to be a part of the Big Game," said Miller High Life brand manager Joe Abegg. "These businesses live the High Life everyday by retaining a steadfast commitment to service and authenticity. What better way to show our appreciation for hard-working Americans who share High Life's values than by providing a primetime stage for a few to tell their story?"

The Black Diamond Group of Oak Creek is the recipient of the South Suburban Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year Award.
Deb Teglia, chief executive officer and president of The Black Diamond Group, accepted the award on behalf of her family and employees. The Business of the Year Award is given to a company for their success, their contributions to the local community and to the community at large. In presenting the award, chamber executive director Barbara Wesener said that the family-owned Black Diamond Group has been an active and generous corporate citizen in Oak Creek and Franklin throughout its 50-year history.
Staybridge Suites Milwaukee Airport South and Woodman’s Food Market Inc. also were recognized as finalists for the Business of the Year.
The chamber also honored Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare Franklin with its Pride in Premises Award for the year.
Wesener presented the Pride in Premises Award to Roberta Johnson, vice president of Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare Franklin. The Pride in Premises Award is given to a company or organization who has demonstrated great care for their physical environment, for their buildings and surroundings. Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare Franklin was honored for its environmental stewardship and its landscape design that does not disturb the natural habitat, tree lines and wetlands.
The awards were bestowed at the chamber’s recent annual awards dinner.
Nan Gardetto, owner of Baptista’s Bakery, Franklin, was the guest speaker at the event, which was held at the Clarion Hotel in Milwaukee.

Battered and bruised by the Great Recession and the closing of the city’s General Motors plant, and other plants, the housing market in Janesville may be hitting bottom, according to some industry experts. Read more in BizTimes Milwaukee's headlines from around the state at http://www.biztimes.com/#news.

The real estate bubble is finally bursting in China. Read more in this week’s edition of BizTimes correspondent Einar Tangen’s Dispatches From China.

While many of the ports in the Great Lakes saw their traffic volumes fall between 15 to 30 percent last year during the recession, the Port of Milwaukee’s volumes were only down 0.7 percent, according to Eric Reinelt, port director. Meanwhile, some improvements are planned for the facilities at the Port of Milwaukee. Read more in the new edition of the BizTimes Manufacturing Weekly bulletin.

Should corporations and labor unions be allowed to spend as much as they want on American political campaigns? Answer today’s BizTimes Poll survey question and view the results so far at www.biztimes.com.
 

State Rep. Jeff Stone has proposed a new bill that would abolish the Wisconsin’s automobile emissions tests and help Wisconsin residents buy next-generation vehicles. Read more in today’s Milwaukee Biz Blog.