Economic Development

John Blau has been appointed to the newly created position of vice president and chief credit officer at Pewaukee-based Foundations Bank.

Standard & Poors has upgraded its rating of MGIC Investment Corp. to B-, up from CCC+, as a result of the company’s capital raise last week.

Brookfield-based Advantage Federal Resourcing has been acquired by Florida workforce solutions company STS Technical Services.

Twitter feeds throughout Milwaukee lit up with the hashtag #voteMKE this week as Mayor Tom Barrett turned to social media to garner support for the Fan Favorite Selection competition within the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors Challenge.

Lawmakers in Washington have done what previously seemed unthinkable: They have allowed sequestration to mindlessly cut spending across the board rather than agree to a coherent deficit-reduction plan.

Cleary Gull Advisors in Milwaukee has hired Brady Endl and promoted Charles Batchelor and Mike Peters.

U.S. Bank committed more than $17.5 million in construction debt and tax credit equity for the development of a new residential complex, the Maria Linden Independent Senior and Assisted Living Apartments in Milwaukee.

Wisconsin banks reported net income of $839 million in the fourth quarter of 2012, up dramatically from $488 million in fourth quarter 2011, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s Quarterly Banking Profile.

Waterstone Mortgage Corp. is expanding into the greater Milwaukee area with a new office in West Allis.

HY Connect, an independent marketing and communications firm with offices in Milwaukee and Chicago, has acquired lonelybrand, a digital marketing agency operating in Chicago.