The U.S. stock market posted meager gains this morning, as traders in New York weighed various economic indicators with the chaos outside their doors on Wall Street.
Riots between New York City Police officers and protesters from the Occupy Wall Street movement broke out Wednesday night, resulting in several people being beaten, pepper sprayed and arrested after they attempted to move past police barriers. Some of the violence was captured in this video. (Warning: video contains graphic images and obscenities.)
Many investors today are mourning the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who died Wednesday after an extended bout with pancreatic cancer. Jobs is being remembered as the greatest innovator of his generation.
Meanwhile, the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell below 4 percent for the first time in history, hitting a record low of 3.94 percent in the week ending Oct. 6, Freddie Mac reported today.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained about 50 points this morning.
Local stocks in the BizTimes Stock Index posted strong gains this morning, led by Joy Global Inc. (up $1.69 to $68.04) and Quad/Graphics Inc. (up 98 cents to $16.98).

BizStarts Milwaukee Inc. celebrated its third anniversary of helping entrepreneurs in southeastern Wisconsin start companies and create jobs.
Since its founding, BizStarts has helped more than a dozen companies raise more than $24 million and create 157 full-time jobs. The project has reviewed more than 230 business plans and presentations.
“The pace of entrepreneurship has quickened, based on the activity BizStarts is seeing. Inquires continue to increase, and there is no shortage of people coming in with intriguing ideas, plans and patents. We’re seeing a sea change in the region with more people willing to take risks, work hard and lead development of something new rather than wait for something to happen to them,” said Dan Steininger, president of BizStarts and a columnist of BizTimes Milwaukee magazine.
Steininger and John Torinus co-founded BizStarts Milwaukee in 2008.
“Over the past three years, the collective resources in the region have launched 33 high-growth companies, which are defined as innovative companies with significant potential to grow to $20 million in revenue or market value within five years. These companies attracted $67.7 million in angel and venture capital and have created the equivalent of 300 full-time jobs,” Steininger said. “With more than 55 entrepreneurs currently in the BizStarts pipeline, there’s no question that the spirit and energy around entrepreneurship is much stronger than in the recent past. Southeast Wisconsin is rapidly becoming one of the best places in the country to start a new venture. We are launching a broad range of new companies, from advanced manufacturing to software to new media to biotechnology and medical devices. This is our strength – a diverse business base from which entrepreneurs spring.”
Steininger said a venture capital bill that is pending in Madison should be approved.
“Many states have invested in early stage funds and Wisconsin needs to be in the game. If passed by the legislature and signed by the governor, the bill would add 50 percent to the amount of early stage funds available in the M7 region and the rest of Wisconsin. The biggest need young companies have is investor dollars – this needs to happen for the future prosperity of our state,” Steininger said.
BizStarts Milwaukee will celebrate its third anniversary today at an event at the Boerner Botanical Gardens from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. The event also will honor entrepreneur Roy Reiman, founder of Reiman Publications.

SABMiller Plc (SAB), the parent company of MillerCoors LLC, is in talks to be acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, the parent company of Budweiser, according to a report at Brazilian news website IG.
The merger would combine the world’s two largest brewing companies.
SABMiller’s stock rose as much as 11 percent on the London Stock Exchange, its steepest intraday gain since Nov. 24, 2008.
Guilherme Barros, a columnist at the Sao Paulo-based website, said the deal could be worth about $80 billion.
Nigel Fairbrass, a spokesman for London-based SABMiller, and Marianne Amssoms, a spokeswoman for Leuven, Belgium-based AB InBev, declined to comment on the report.
AB InBev was formed when InBev NV bought St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch Cos. in 2008 for $52 billion.
Trevor Stirling, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein in London, told Bloomberg News that Were AB InBev to acquire SABMiller, it would probably have to divest SABMiller’s stake in MillerCoors LLC, a joint venture with Molson Coors Brewing Co., and “take a haircut on fair value on the disposal.”
Chicago-based MillerCoors operates a brewery in Milwaukee.

Some Milwaukee officials are requesting that $54.9 million in federal funds for a proposed downtown streetcar project be redirected to the ailing Milwaukee County Transit System, although such a request is likely not possible because of federal guidelines for the money.
The request was submitted to U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee) by Milwaukee Aldermen Robert Donovan and Joseph Dudzik and Milwaukee County Supervisor Mark Borkowski.
The $54.9 million for the streetcar project is part of $91.5 million in unspent funding awarded to Milwaukee city in 1991. The other $36.6 million is allocated to the county, but has not been used.
“To attempt tackling this streetcar project during an unprecedented economic crisis being felt in Milwaukee and across this nation is insanity,” Donovan said.
According to a letter sent by the U.S. Department of Transportation to Alderman Robert Bauman in June, it is illegal to redirect the federal funds to another transportation project such as the county bus system.
“We’ve argued all these issues,” Bauman said. “What new fact, what new piece of information has come forward to re-debate this issue?”
Barrett said if the streetcar opponents were interested in improving the transit system, they should have made an effort to do so sooner by joining him in asking Gov. Scott Walker not to make cuts to the MCTS budget.
“For many years now, $36 million has been languishing,” Barrett said. “For them to step forward now to say ‘Let’s use this money to improve transit’ defies logic.”
Barrett affirmed his commitment Wednesday to continue with the streetcar project, and said he would work to reduce an estimated $70 million underground utility costs associated with the project.

Most major U.S. retailers posted gains in comparable store sales in September, as shoppers stocked up on back-to-school supplies and snagged discounts and affordable luxuries.
The International Council of Shopping Centers said today that overall revenue rose 5.5 percent in September.
Retailers reporting comparable sales in stores open at least a year included: Costco Inc., up 12.0 percent; Limited Brands Inc., up 11.0 percent; Nordstrom Inc., up 10.7 percent; Sak’s Inc., up 9.3 percent; Target Corp., up 5.3 percent; Macy’s Inc., up 4.9 percent;  Kohl’s, up 4.1 percent; Walgreen Company, up 3.1 percent; J.C. Penny Inc., down 0.6 percent; Bon-Ton Stores Inc., down 3.6 percent; The Gap Inc., down 4.0 percent.
Menomonee Falls-based Kohl's Corp., which suffered a sales decline in August, bounced back with a stronger September.
Kevin Mansell, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Kohl’s, said, "We are pleased to report significant improvement in our September sales results. As expected, the Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony launches -- the largest launches in our history -- and the opening of 31 new stores, generated excitement which resulted in improved customer traffic."
Gregg Steinhafel, a Milwaukee native who is chairman, president and chief executive of Target, said, “We experienced strong sales results throughout the month and across a broad array of merchandise categories.”
Tony Buccina, vice chairman and president of Merchandising for Bon-Ton Stores, which has headquarters in Milwaukee and York, Pa., said, "Although our comparable stores sales performance did not meet our expectations, our strategic initiatives of footwear expansions, increased penetration of updated merchandise, and pilot store renovations with the 're-discover' branding in those markets gained traction. Best performing businesses were cosmetics, shoes, hard home and men's furnishings. Additionally, our move to more updated moderate merchandise in our missy, women's and petite sportswear was well received by our customers. Poor performing businesses were furniture, traditional ladies' sportswear and intimate apparel."

American Family Insurance plans to add about 75 jobs to its Madison claims office as part of a plan to consolidate 20 claims offices around the country into six regional offices by August 2012, the company said. About 625 jobs total are part of the consolidation, with about 550 of those positions moved to the regional offices. One of the regional offices will be in Pewaukee. For more, read today’s edition of the BizTimes Wisconsin Morning Headlines bulletin.

The Victory Garden Initiative, an organization dedicated to supporting sustainable food sources, recently launched its second annual Fruity Nutty Campaign, a project to create an edible forest in Milwaukee by encouraging people to plant fruit and nut trees throughout the city. “Our goal is to create Milwaukee as an urban edible food forest,” said Gretchen Mead, director of the organization. “In order to do that, we are promoting the planting of fruit and nut trees throughout the city.” For more, read this week’s edition of the BizTimes Bubbler.

State Rep. Fred Kessler of Milwaukee says the political independence of Wisconsin’s Government Accountability Board should not be compromised by partisan politics. Read more in today’s Milwaukee Biz Blog.