Banking & Finance

Mason Wells, a Milwaukee-based middle-market buyout firm, announced that effective immediately, Thomas Smith will assume the role of executive managing director, succeeding John Byrnes, who has held the position since the inception of the company in 1998.

U.S. employers added 155,000 jobs in December, as the national unemployment rate remained at 7.8 percent, the Labor Department announced.

Spring Bank announced that it will move from its current location at 16655 W. Wisconsin Ave., Brookfield, to a larger location at 16620 W. Bluemound Road, Brookfield.

Milwaukee private equity firm Mason Wells announced its portfolio company, NEX Performance Films Inc. has acquired Charter Films Inc.

Wastebuilt Environmental Solutions LLC has acquired Stepp Equipment Company in Menomonee Falls.

Menomonee Falls-based Bradley Corp. announced it has purchased the assets of Keltech Inc. of Delton, Mich., and will operate the company as a wholly-owned subsidiary.

It's Monday morning and you have just finished your first cup of coffee, kissed your spouse goodbye and drove to your office. You are the first one to arrive and turn on the lights. As you finish your second cup of coffee, your employees begin to arrive as they have done for the last 30 years.

A BizTimes reader has asked me to comment on a recent news story about U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) action to get copies of the audit paperwork on nine U.S.-listed Chinese companies suspected of wrongdoing.

Robert W. Baird & Co.'s annual Economic and Stock Market Outlook report indicates business spending growth is likely to slow this year as a result of uncertainty, while the labor market and wages will continue to languish.

Glendale-based Johnson Controls Inc., a global diversified company in the building and automotive industries, expects to post higher sales and earnings in fiscal 2013, despite a challenging economic environment.