Soaring unemployment. A plummeting stock market. Economic recession with no end in sight. Things don’t get any better for business brokers. “The best years we had were under Jimmy Carter, when unemployment was 12.5%, and mortgages were 20%,” says Jim Kops, owner of A-1 Business Brokers Inc. “[Business brokers] did very, very well, and that’s what I think is right around the corner.” Kops says two factors are driving his business these days: the plunge in stock prices and rising unemployment...

Yes, but be patient—unfavorable information cannot just be deleted. The data that go into your credit score can be divided into five categories. Payment history: This is the most crucial component of your credit. Make your loan, utility and other bill payments on time. Pay down large loan balances with more than just the minimum...

Contrary to the headlines, banks are still lending money. As long as you have excellent credit, your ability to secure a loan or a line of credit is largely immune to the current economic meltdown that has turned the nation’s top lenders into wards of the state. Those with less than excellent credit face higher...

Who is responsible for the current economic meltdown? The answer is, without equivocation, the U.S. government. It is not that the government set up programs that helped poorer people buy houses beyond their means; it is that the government closed its eyes and let the unfettered free market do as it pleased. The people who hate government got into power and pushed this “government can do nothing positive” philosophy and systematically removed many of the regulations that have existed for 75 years as a result of the Great Depression.

It's not just mortgage payments that are keeping homeowners up atnight-housing expenses in general are on the rise. A recent study by the Center for Housing Policy, the research affiliate of the National Housing Conference, reveals that rising housing expenses, including property taxes, insurance, utilities and more, are impacting virtually all segments of the housing market, including renters.

Jack Daniels, co-owner of Milwaukee-based Hot Water Products, one of the largest distributors of thermal solar panels in the Midwest, isn’t one to go with the flow. “We’re not waiting for business to come to us,” says Daniels, whose partner, Howard Endres, began selling high-efficiency water heaters and boilers in 1998.

When Glenda Carter was growing up barefoot in a small Mississippi Delta town, she and her friends had a favorite expression: “Let it ride.” “It meant, ‘Let it go, move on,’” Carter says. “If someone hurt themselves playing, the other kids would say, ‘Let it ride’—shake it off and move on.”

Welcome to the Brewery Credit Union, the best place to save and borrow,” says a friendly, recorded voice at the other end of the line. At a time when banks and other lenders look more like wards of the state than the venerated institutions they once were, it’s difficult to imagine that anyone is still happy to lend money, or...

The financial "bailout" bill will pass Congress and be signed by the president. The only questions are when that will happen and what it will contain. The "when" should be within days of Congress' return this week. The content is obviously more difficult.

What can you do with a stop sign that hasn't already been done? That question nagged Rick Bergholz, CEO of Traffic and Parking Control Co. (TAPCO) for decades. Eight years ago he found the answer: a solar-powered, Wi-Fi stop sign that detects cars as they approach the intersection. The technology morphed into Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), or what Bergholz calls "high-tech solutions to old problems."

Most Wisconsin business executives are skeptical about climate change science, but still favor energy conservation and alternative energy use, according to a survey released by the Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corp. (WECC).

Despite rising diesel prices, regional floods and economic uncertainty, the Lake Express Ferry is on course to match last year’s business performance. The company kicked off its fifth season in May with a 20% fare increase to cover a 76% annual rise in the price of diesel fuel...

Can the red-hot market for solar panels generate green jobs for Milwaukee? Some city officials are hoping so. “We’ll be looking into whether we can build them locally,” says Ann Beier, director of environmental sustainability for the city of Milwaukee. Beier and others want to use part of a $200,000 federal Solar City grant to fund...

The Milwaukee Public Market, the symbol of a rejuvenated Third Ward, will expand this December as Good Harvest Market of Pewaukee moves into the former Broadway Produce Co. building. In addition to retaining the old “Commission Row” flavor, the market also aims to stay true to its mission of supporting local farm ers and businesses.

It was during an Amway business convention in Albuquerque some 20 years ago that Ruben Hopkins got his first inkling of what ailed the African-American business community. "I'd look in one room and see 50 or 60 white Amway distributors, talking, sharing ideas, networking," he remembers. "Then I'd look in another room and only see five or six black people. And I wondered, 'Why is that?'"

Although consumer inflation is at a 17-year high, historically high oil prices are not necessarily to blame. In fact, high oil prices, the economic slowdown and the Chinese work in tandem to keep inflation from becoming even worse. July's Consumer Price Index (CPI)- which follows the change in prices for common consumer goods-is worrying, with its 0.8% rise over June, doubling analysts' expectations. Year over year, the CPI rose 5.6%, nearing the 6.29% rate set in early 1991. But the higher oil prices don't necessarily lead to widespread inflation.

In yet another troubling sign for the U.S. economy, more Americans are borrowing against their 401(k) retirement plans to make ends meet. What’s more, some banks are making it easier by offering people debit cards that tap into their retirement funds.

How did you spend your stimulus check? If you’re like most Americans, you bought gasoline. Since President Bush signed the tax rebate into law Feb. 13, the average household has spent $1,500 filling the family car, according to research by Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group (WISPIRG).

The Brewery Credit Union (BCU) has more on tap than just savings accounts and car loans. The community not-for-profit organization also offers BEER, or Brewery Employees Education Resource programs. “We always strive to educate,” said Marketing Director Mikal Gilliat, who noted that BCU’s seminars for first-time home...

A surge in foreclosures is forcing more and more lenders to take a loss on bad loans, giving rise to a speculative real estate practice known as a “short sale.” Here’s how it works: When a homeowner is threatened with foreclosure, an investor negotiates with the lender to buy the mortgage for far less than is owed. If all goes well, the sellers reduce their debt, the buyer gets a good deal and the bank removes a non-producing asset from its books. But, in practice, the deals are notoriously difficult to piece together and too often are oversold as a way to turn a fast buck.

For every dollar you spend at a locally owned business, more than 68 cents stays in Milwaukee. That means more of your money is used to buy from other local businesses, service providers and farms, further strengthening the local economy and creating more jobs. Supporting local businesses helps create a “living economy,” according to Our Milwaukee, an alliance of 50 local businesses that is raising business awareness the week of July 7-13 with a film, prize drawings and special retail offerings.

Beware of a possible phone scam over the Fourth of July weekend, warns the Wisconsin Bankers Association (WBA). “Vishing”—a combination of “voice” and “phishing”—involves a recorded voice informing victims that their bank accounts are frozen and also provides a toll-free number to use in reinstating the account...

The economic cost of buying something is not just the price you pay. Finding what you want and ensuring that it is competitively priced can be expensive. But making a purchasing decision without all the relevant information can result in inefficiency...

If you think that commuting to work is becoming too costly, consider what truck drivers are facing with $4-plus gas and diesel. “We’re just hanging on; it’s a struggle,” said Kathy Paul, office manager at Badger Freight Service Inc., which operates 12 refrigerator trailers out of Milwaukee. “It’s costing the guys a dollar...

When people are misled by inflation into thinking that they are getting richer, when in fact the value of their money is declining. Whether, and how much, people are fooled by inflation is much debated by economists. (Source: Economist.com)