Viewpoints

Milwaukee-based MGIC Investment Corp., the nation's largest private mortgage insurer, reported a fourth quarter net loss of $386.7 million, compared with a net loss of $135.3 million in the fourth quarter for fiscal 2011.

TruStone Financial Federal Credit Union of Plymouth, Minn. announced it has reached an agreement to acquire Ladish Community Credit Union (LCCU) of Cudahy.
The boards of directors of both organizations unanimously approved a merger of the two credit unions.

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.

Canton, Ohio-based LEL Operating Company, the parent company of Superior Dairy Inc., has submitted a $5.5 million bid on the now-shuttered Golden Guernsey Dairy Plant in Waukesha, according to company trustee Charlie Stanziale Jr.

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 Manufacturers & Commerce read with great interest the recent Milwaukee Biz Blog by History Professor Marc Levine from UW-Milwaukee. He claims, based on “major academic studies as well as data from the U.S., Wisconsin, and Milwaukee labor markets” that there is no evidence to support the skills gap thesis. We read the report, and waited to get to the part where the professor talked to manufacturers. Unfortunately, he did not.

MillerCoors and the Milwaukee Brewers announced a multi-year sponsorship renewal that will keep Miller Lite as the team's exclusive beer sponsor.

There is apparent unanimity among Wisconsin business executives and policymakers that the state faces a "skills gap:" thousands of jobs going unfilled because too few Wisconsin workers possess the skills, education, and training for them. This skills mismatch, it is argued, is the central reason why unemployment remains high, even as job vacancies remain unfilled.

Milwaukee-based Joy Global Inc. reported fiscal first quarter net income of $142.1 million, down slightly from $142.5 million in the same period a year ago.