Although oil prices have fallen off in recent weeks, they may fall far more in coming months, according to analysis by Michael Sadoff, an investment manager with Sadoff Investment Management LLC.

Oil was trading at $114.45 per barrel on Monday afternoon, down significantly from highs of more than $140 barrel earlier this year. "It came down at the end of the month (July), and it's starting to break through now," Sadoff said. "If you compare it to other bubbles like housing and technology, once you see things start to break down, there will be a little rally, and then there is another breakdown where the acceleration starts."

For example, Sadoff said oil's price could rise to the $125 to $130 per barrel price, then fall again. "When it gets below $110 again, all bets are off," he said.

A great fall in oil prices will not be good news for the U.S. economy, Sadoff said, because the price decrease seems to indicate falling demand, which indicates an economic slowdown.

"Falling oil prices are good, but the reason why is not that great," he said. "This could be a dangerous thing for the stock market. People thought the market would rally when oil fell. I think we may run into trouble when people figure out why oil is falling. It will be very worrisome to for the market. It could be weeks or months, but it's worth keeping an eye on."

Harris N.A., the Chicago-based financial institution that purchased Ozaukee Bank and Merchants and Manufacturers Bancorporation Inc. in February, recently notified the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development that it will cut 95 jobs at the two acquired banks in October.

Harris plans to lay off 27 of Ozaukee Bank's workers and 68 employees at MMBC. Harris paid about $320 million for the two banks earlier this year, and the layoffs are a result of the integration of the banks into Harris, a company spokeswoman said.

"As with most acquisitions, we've identified areas of overlap between Harris and Ozaukee Bank and MMBC," said Chris Nardella, Harris spokesperson. "As a result, we are in the process of eliminating duplicate positions, and that will result in some workplace reductions, mostly in the operations and corporate centers."

Thomas Bolger, president of Harris Bank Wisconsin, told SBT that Harris plans to convert Ozaukee Bank and the MMBC banks into Harris-branded banks on Sept. 8. To read more about the bank's conversion process and future growth plans, click here.

National City to move Wisconsin HQ to downtown Milwaukee
Cleveland, Ohio-based National City Corp. announced plans to move its Wisconsin headquarters from Brookfield to the 411 East Wisconsin Center building in downtown Milwaukee.

"The move to 411 East Wisconsin Center, located in the heart of downtown Milwaukee's business district, demonstrates National City's commitment to becoming one of Wisconsin's leading financial institutions," said Beth Wnuk, president of National City - Wisconsin Banking. "Combining our existing Milwaukee operations into a downtown headquarters provides a dramatic and visible base to grow marketshare and strengthen the connection between our employees and their customers. We want to invest in the region's future and be a part of its success. Our goal is not to be just another bank in Greater Milwaukee, but to be a vital community and economic partner in the development and growth of our community."

National City's current Wisconsin headquarters is located in the Bishop's Woods office park at 13400 Bishops Lane, Suite 190, Brookfield. The bank will occupy 22,500 square feet of space in the downtown Milwaukee building, including 12,500 square feet of space for a new retail branch on the first floor. National City will bring a total of 87 employees downtown, 75 people in the office and 12 in the retail branch, said spokeswoman Terri Wilson.

The downtown branch will open in October. The downtown office will open after Jan. 1. "All of National City's state headquarters offices are in downtowns of major metropolitan areas," Wilson said. "That's where the business community is. If a state doesn't have a strong city the rest of the communities don't grow either. Downtown is the place to be. Downtown is the heart of economic development. That's where it happens. Growth moves out from there. Downtown is the heart of the city."

National City also announced that it will expand its Greater Milwaukee market presence by adding approximately 11 new locations over the next three years to its current branch network of 24 banking centers, which it obtained with the acquisition of MAF Bancorp Inc. in 2007, which had acquired St. Francis Capital Corp., the former parent company of St. Francis Bank, in 2003.

National City will look for gaps in southeastern Wisconsin that it isn't currently serving to add new branches, Wilson said. "We are looking at areas to fill in," she said. "There are not specific locations. Typically what we try to do is look at the map and see where we have some openings. Our retail branch expansion team is reviewing all of that now. We have some ideas, but we don't want to go public with them now."

Looking at National City's current locations, the bank could look to fill gaps in northern Milwaukee County, western Waukesha County, Racine County, Kenosha County, and central and northern Ozaukee County. National City currently has five locations in Milwaukee; two in Wauwatosa, West Allis and Waukesha; and single locations in Cudahy, New Berlin, Muskego, Oak Creek, Greendale, Thiensville, Germantown, West Bend, Kewaskum, Hartford and Lake Geneva.

National City's first new, full-service branch, expected to open in October 2008, will be the one located on the first floor of the bank's new headquarters in downtown Milwaukee. Its next new branch will open next year, Wilson said.

National City said its branch expansion plan will add an estimated 60 new jobs over the next three years throughout Greater Milwaukee.

Verizon completes acquisition of Unicel
Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone, announced it has completed its purchase of Rural Cellular Corp., which does business as Unicel, for $2.66 billion in cash and assumed debt.

The acquisition will expand Verizon Wireless' network coverage to many rural markets throughout the country and increases the company's customers by more than 625,000.

The purchase will increase Verizon Wireless' licensed coverage area by 4.7 million people, and will add licenses covering markets in rural Wisconsin, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Alabama, Mississippi, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, Washington and Oregon.

Verizon Wireless will begin today to serve customers in Rural Cellular markets that will be merged with Verizon Wireless' operations. The company will continue to use the Unicel brand for the next several months, as it works to integrate networks.

Virtually all Rural Cellular employees have received employment offers and have accepted them.

Unicel will be re-branded as Verizon Wireless in phases when customers are transitioned to the Verizon Wireless network and billing conversions are completed, beginning early in 2009.

The completion of the Rural Cellular purchase required approvals by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Harley finalizes purchase of Italian motorcycle manufacturer
Harley-Davidson Inc. recently completed its purchase of the privately held Italian motorcycle maker MV Agusta Group. Milwaukee-based Harley has acquired 100 percent of MV Agusta Group shares for total consideration of approximately $108 million, which includes the satisfaction of existing bank debt for approximately $69 million.

Retail sales of Harley-Davidson motorcycles have grown at a double-digit rate in Europe in each of the last three years, as the company has increased its strategic focus on global markets.

MV Agusta Group adds two lines of motorcycles to the Harley-Davidson family: a line of exclusive, premium, high-performance sport motorcycles sold under the MV Agusta brand; and a line of lightweight sport motorcycles sold under the Cagiva brand.

SBA's flood assistance for Wisconsin tops $20 million
More than $20 million in U. S. Small Business Administration Disaster Assistance Loans have been approved for residents and business owners in Wisconsin who were affected by the severe storms, tornadoes and flooding earlier this summer.

"Currently, 906 home and business disaster loans have been approved in the amount of $20,980,000 for affected victims," said Frank Skaggs, director of SBA Field Operations Center East.  "We are pleased to be able to get these loans approved so the residents and businesses of Wisconsin can start rebuilding and begin resuming their normal lives."

Flood victims are urged to register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) by calling 1-800-621-3362 (FEMA). "If you were issued an SBA loan application, complete and return the application to the SBA, even if you don't want a loan. If SBA is not able to approve a home loan, you will be referred to FEMA for possible grant assistance. I encourage anyone who has not completed their disaster loan application to meet with one of the customer service representatives at one of the Centers located throughout the disaster area for one-on-one assistance," Skaggs said.

Disaster loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property.

Businesses and non-profit organizations of any size may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory and other business assets. SBA can also lend additional funds to help with the cost of making improvements that protect, prevent or minimize the same type of disaster damage in the future.

For small businesses, and most private non-profit organizations of all sizes, the SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster.  Economic Injury Disaster Loans assistance is available regardless of whether the business suffered any physical property damage.

Interest rates are as low as 2.687 percent for homeowners and renters and 4 percent for businesses with terms up to 30 years.

For additional information about SBA Disaster Loan applications, call the SBA Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955. Victims also may apply for disaster loans through SBA's secure web site at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/.

Madison-based Wisconsin Community Bank recently named Kevin Tenpas as president. In his new role, he will lead the bank's statewide commercial banking division. Tenpas is currently president and CEO of Heartland Business Bank, a branch of Wisconsin Community Bank, that has operations in Sheboygan and Green Bay. Wisconsin Community Bank has $400 million in assets and operates seven offices throughout the state.

Bank Mutual recently named Richard Karls as bank office manager at its Madison West office.  Before joining Bank Mutual, Karls was the owner of a financial planning practice. He lives in Verona.

M&I Wealth Management recently promoted Cindy Alexander to vice president. Alexander serves as a trust operations manager and has been with M&I since 1999.