Economic Development

Associated Banc-Corp announced the appointment of James Yee to the role of executive vice president, chief information and operations officer.

Milwaukee-based Brady Corp. reported fiscal third quarter net income of $27.7 million, or 52 cents per share, down from $28.6 million, or 54 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.

Appleton Papers Inc. and Hicks Acquisition Company II Inc. announced a definitive agreement under which Appleton will engage in a business combination with Hicks in a transaction valued at $675 million.

MGIC Investment Corp. announced that its Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp. subsidiary has filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court in Milwaukee against Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Finance Administration (Freddie Mac's conservator) regarding the pool insurance dispute between MGIC and Freddie Mac.

Milwaukee's Bradley Center has been renamed the BMO Harris Bradley Center after the bank made an undisclosed investment in the future of the building.

Kenosha plastic injection molder Xten Industries has acquired the assets of Paramount Plastics LLC in Lockport, Ill.

The ongoing dispute about the number of jobs in Wisconsin took another turn today with the release of new federal statistics that show Wisconsin lost 21,400 jobs from April 2011 to April 2012, ranking last in the nation for job creation, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Walker administration today took the unprecedented step today of releasing preliminary employment numbers that indicate Wisconsin may have created 23,321 jobs in 2011.

Brookfield-based Inlanta Mortgage continues to expand by opening new offices Marshfield and De Pere, Wis, and Schaumburg, Ill.

Douglas Dynamics Inc., a Milwaukee-based designer and manufacturer of snow and ice control equipment for light trucks, reported a first quarter net loss of $4.3 million, or 19 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $0.8 million, or 4 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.