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Category: Business/Technology

Coronavirus Pandemic Deals Another Blow To Wisconsin’s Newspapers

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Wisconsin Public Radio

The COVID-19 shutdowns have taken away cornerstones of newspapers’ already-struggling revenue: business ads and events, said Mike Wagner, a journalism professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“When news organizations rely on events to advertise about and rely on events that they themselves host, and they’re in an environment where there are no more events, they lose a significant portion of their revenue model,” he said.

Wagner said the situation still has time to get worse.

“It feels like March 84th, but really, we’ve just been at this for a couple of weeks,” he said. “The real economic hits are still to come, and the fact that an organization like the Isthmus had to close down so early, suggests how fragile some news organizations see themselves financially.”

Unemployment Insurance Claims Top 100K In Wisconsin During Coronavirus Pandemic

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Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: The numbers reflect the staggering impact of restrictions on mass gatherings of 10 people or more and other efforts to slows the spread of virus. Economists said the number of initial claims were unprecedented for Wisconsin, including Noah Williams, economics professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of the Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy (CROWE).

Coronavirus will affect everyone, even if you never get sick. But some people will be hit harder than others.

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Quoted: A 2015 study of influenza and credit card and mortgage defaults in 83 metro areas found the largest effects were for 90-day defaults, suggesting a flu outbreak has a “disproportionate impact on vulnerable borrowers who are already behind on their payments.”

“And that’s just a regular flu, not a pandemic where you actually are having people sent home before they’re sick,” said J. Michael Collins, one of the study’s authors and professor and director of the Center for Financial Security at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Before coronavirus, Milwaukee service workers could work more hours to get more money. Now, everything is closed — and they’re in trouble.

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Noted: One in five Wisconsin workers holds “a poverty wage job with few benefits,” according to a 2018 report from the Center on Wisconsin Strategy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“Social distancing would be a lot less inequality promoting if we had the infrastructure of strong medical care, insurance and housing supports for low-wage workers, but we don’t,” said Laura Dresser, a labor economist and the associate director of the Center on Wisconsin Strategy. “That means that this crisis tends to push the inequality along, instead of the crisis showing how connected we are and pulling us closer together.”

Know Your Madisonian: Small Business Development Center director enjoys challenges of launching companies

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Wisconsin State Journal

Michelle Somes-Booher had been helping entrepreneurs and small business owners get their companies off the ground long before she became director of the Small Business Development Center in Madison … The center is based in Grainger Hall on the UW-Madison campus and is open to anyone in Dane, Columbia and Sauk counties.

Fox Valley Manufacturer Cuts Quarterly Earnings Projection Due To COVID-19-Related Disruptions

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

COVID-19 is expected to have a major impact on the global economy. Projections have become increasingly pessimistic in recent weeks as the virus has continued to spread, said Ian Coxhead, a University of Wisconsin-Madison economics professor. He noted some forecasts predict negative economic growth in the U.S. during the second quarter or even over the whole year.

Fox Valley Manufacturer Cuts Quarterly Earnings Projection Due To COVID-19-Related Disruptions

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: COVID-19 is expected to have a major impact on the global economy. Projections have become increasingly pessimistic in recent weeks as the virus has continued to spread, said Ian Coxhead, a University of Wisconsin-Madison economics professor. He noted some forecasts predict negative economic growth in the U.S. during the second quarter or even over the whole year.

“The fortunes of any company in the state or in the U.S. are going to be, first of all, determined by the macroeconomic health of the U.S. economy,” Coxhead said.

The Feeling You Get After Surviving Layoffs Has A Name

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HuffPost Life

After a layoff, “employees see less of an obligation to be loyal to the company, resulting in more of a free agent mentality,” said Charlie Trevor, a professor of management and human resources in the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. “With this mentality comes the freedom to actively seek another job where, hopefully, one’s future will be less tenuous.”

Pier 1 Imports Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

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Wall Street Journal

Quoted: Those rivals have increasingly moved into selling home furnishings and merchandise that were once virtually the exclusive domain of Pier 1, according to Hart Posen, a professor of management at the University of Wisconsin.

“You’d see something in someone’s house—a wicker-rattan chair or an elephant-themed umbrella holder—and know it came from Pier 1,” Mr. Posen said. “You could buy it at Pier 1 or nowhere, but that’s just not the case anymore.”

Pier 1 Imports, the Struggling Home Goods Retailer, Files for Bankruptcy

Posted on
The New York Times

“Twenty years ago, you could look at a product and you would really know that it came from Pier 1,” said Hart Posen, a professor of management at the University of Wisconsin School of Business who studies corporate decision-making during technological change. “They were really the only big national firm with that kind of unique identity.”

UW business grad aims to change diabetics’ lives with a piece of plastic

Posted on
The Capital Times

The business major was sitting in his entrepreneurship class when his instructor told the class to “focus on problems that you have yourself and try to solve them.” Michels thought of the medical problems he could have avoided if he’d been better able to rotate injections sites, and he thought of the millions of American insulin users who face the same limitations.

More signs emerge that the pace of Foxconn’s Wisconsin project is falling short of expectations

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Noted: Plans for the institute surfaced in August 2018 as part of the unveiling of Foxconn’s partnership with UW-Madison, a partnership best known for the company’s pledge of $100 million to the university.

Foxconn’s donations to date stand at the previously reported $700,000, university spokesman John Lucas said Tuesday by email. He directed questions about the research institute to Foxconn.

CEO Turnover: Why CEOs Are Bailing Out In Droves

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Investor's Business Daily

Many CEOs are at or nearing traditional retirement age, says Fabio Gaertner, associate professor at the Wisconsin School of Business at University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Generational change is creating more churn,” he said. The average age of S&P 500 CEOs is 58, a point at which many CEOs, especially if successful, might think about packing it in.

The Incredible Shrinking Corporate Tax Rate Continues to Hit New Lows for These Business Giants

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Fortune

Some experts have said that trying to follow the ITEP analysis was difficult. “It was hard to tie their numbers to the financial statements I looked at,” says Mary Vernon, a PhD candidate and tax researcher at University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Wisconsin School of Business who is part of a research team currently looking at effective tax rates.

Retailers hope to cash in on the year’s final weekends

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WTMJ

Quoted: “Typically, the Saturday before Christmas is very close to Black Friday in sales,” said Executive Director of the Kohl’s Center for Retail at UW-Madison, Jerry O’Brien. “There’s a lot of people [where] it’s actually part of their tradition, you go out just before the holiday and buy the stuff.”

O’Brien says one of the advantages of having a mid-week Christmas is the potential many workers might either start their holiday next weekend, or begin a long weekend at the start of Christmas.

“Additionally, it’s the time where people are taking their returns in, and they have gift cards, so there’s a lot of traffic in the stores and there’ll still be some really great deals out there,” he said.

Analysis: Trump Tariffs Cost Wisconsinites Millions (So Far)

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Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: University of Wisconsin-Madison economist Maria Muniagurria said the retaliatory tariffs will have long-term effects beyond that $12 billion. They give other countries a chance to swoop in and take America’s spot in China’s supply chains, like Brazil did when China put tariffs on American soybeans, she said.

“Suppose we end the trade war with China, and China removes the tariffs. Well, we are not sure we are going to be able to recover the market again,” Muniagurria said.

A Few Cities Have Cornered Innovation Jobs. Can That Be Changed?

Posted on
The New York Times

There are about a dozen industries at the frontier of innovation. They include software and pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and data processing. Most of their workers have science or tech degrees. They invest heavily in research and development. While they account for only 3 percent of all jobs, they account for 6 percent of the country’s economic output. Madison is noted prominently in the study as an area that could become a major tech hub.

Brookings: 90 percent of high-tech job growth happened in 5 metro areas

Posted on
Vox

Brookings suggests intensive government investment — direct funding, tax preferences, workforce development — to stem future regional economic divergence. The report lists a number of areas like Madison, Wisconsin; Albany, New York; and Provo, Utah, that have existing assets like universities that could potentially make them future innovation hubs, but this will only happen if there’s a concerted effort.

Q3 2019 Hedge Fund Holdings: Top Stocks, New Buys & More

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WalletHub

Ivan Shaliastovich, associate professor of finance, quoted: “As a brief remark: the tariff wars will have a negative impact on the markets and the economy. This is a good example of a bad uncertainty:’ most market participants and business executives view tariffs as a downside risk, and are unlikely to take on substantial investment projects in light of a heightened uncertainty about the outcome. We already see an occasional upsurge in volatility as the markets attempt to interpret and respond to the news about tariffs negotiations. It’s only a matter of time when delays in investments will lead to slower growth in the US and elsewhere.”

Industrial dairy farming is taking over Wisconsin’s milk production, crowding out family operations and raising environmental concerns

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Quoted: Dean “had bigger, industrywide issues with the consumption of milk products. But the loss of the Walmart business was just another thing they didn’t need,” said Mark Stephenson, director of dairy policy analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

It’s a Good Time to Be a US Airline

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Adweek

While airlines haven’t exactly been scandal-free over the past few years, the net effect of negative press hasn’t had any measurable effect on profit, said Kaplan. Grounded Boeing planes might mean fewer seats in the sky for some airlines, but that can both drive up prices and offer unaffected airlines the opportunity to pick up new customers and increase capacity.

-Kathryn Lundstrom is a reporter covering breaking news. Before joining Adweek, she wrote about politics for The Daily DONUT, analyzed policy at the Texas Capitol, worked as a fellow for The Texas Tribune and checked facts at Sports Illustrated. She holds an M.A. in journalism and a master of global policy studies from the University of Texas at Austin and got her B.A. in international studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Co-founders of Madison’s Fetch Rewards named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Madison-based Fetch Rewards‘ co-founders Wes Schroll and Tyler Kennedy were named to Forbes’ annual 30 Under 30 listing.

Schroll and Kennedy made the consumer technology list that the magazine announced Tuesday. The pair met while students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Schroll dropped out to build the company in 2013.

Governor Declares Energy Emergency As Farms, Rural Residents Create High Demand For Propane

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: Joe Lauer, agronomist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said he started advising farmers to start buying propane over the summer after wet weather caused major planting delays across the state.

“Whenever that occurs, we typically have some fairly wet corn,” Lauer said. “We just haven’t gotten a break this year in terms of the weather. It’s been really cold and wet through most of the season.”

Wisconsin Dairy Economists Say 2020 Will Be ‘Restorative’ Year For The Industry

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: The production increase comes after several months of declines from 2018 levels. Mark Stephenson, director of dairy policy analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said he was surprised by the change.

“(There were) fewer cows than we’ve had in all of our earlier months of the year, so a continued decline there, but milk production per cow had a strong growth,” Stephenson said. “That usually doesn’t happen unless we have pretty good quality feed and a real strong incentive to produce milk.”

Harvest Struggles Across Wisconsin Could Impact Supply Of Livestock Feed

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: Liz Binversie, agricultural educator for University of Wisconsin-Extension in Brown County, said she has heard farmers describe silage as like pickling vegetables.

“You’re kind of pickling the feed, right? You’re preserving it long term. And what’s doing that is the microbial population,” Binversie said.

Foxconn Innovation Centers On Hold Across The State

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Not long after Foxconn Technology Group announced plans to build a massive manufacturing facility in southeast Wisconsin, the tech giant began making promises to share its model for economic development across the entire state. But 18 months after purchasing its first building in downtown Milwaukee, there is little evidence that what Foxconn calls its innovation centers are moving forward.