Economic commission declares recession is over; SBA loans in Milwaukee region fell in August; US Bancorp Fund Services earns top rankings in survey
Economic commission declares recession is over
The Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), widely regarded as the official arbiter of economic cycles, has determined that the Great Recession ended in June 2009.
In a conference call on Sunday, the committee determined that a trough in business activity occurred in the U.S. economy in June 2009. The trough marked the end of the recession that began in December 2007 and the beginning of an expansion.
The recession lasted 18 months, which makes it the longest of any recession since World War II. Previously the longest postwar recessions were those of 1973-75 and 1981-82, both of which lasted 16 months.
In determining that a trough occurred in June 2009, the committee did not conclude that economic conditions since that month have been favorable or that the economy has returned to operating at normal capacity. Rather, the committee determined only that the recession ended and a recovery began in that month.
A recession is a period of falling economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales. The trough marks the end of the declining phase and the start of the rising phase of the business cycle. Economic activity is typically below normal in the early stages of an expansion, and it sometimes remains so well into the expansion.
The committee decided that any future downturn of the economy would be a new recession and not a continuation of the recession that began in December 2007. The basis for that decision was the length and strength of the recovery to date.
The committee waited to make its decision until revisions in the National Income and Product Accounts, released on July 30 and August 27, 2010, clarified the 2009 time path of the two broadest measures of economic activity, real Gross Domestic Product (real GDP) and real Gross Domestic Income (real GDI).
SBA loans in Milwaukee region fell in August
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) approved $11.9 million in loan guarantees in August for southeastern Wisconsin companies, down 18.4 percent from $14.6 million in the same month a year earlier.
The data includes loans to companies in a nine-county area consisting of Milwaukee, Waukesha, Washington, Ozaukee, Walworth, Racine, Kenosha, Sheboygan and Jefferson counties.
The largest SBA loans in southeastern Wisconsin in August included:
- Waukesha Iron & Metal Inc., 1407 E. Main St., Waukesah, $2 million, from Wisconsin Business Development Finance Corp.
- NWP Inc., 3220 Crocker Ave., Sheboygan, $2 million, from Hometown Bank.
- CNR Group, W209 N17341 Industrial Dr., Jackson, $1,113,000, from Wells Fargo Bank.
- Milwaukee Boiler International, 1101 S. 41st St., Milwaukee, $1,002,500, from Community Bank & Trust.
US Bancorp Fund Services earns top rankings in survey
Milwaukee-based U.S. Bancorp Fund Services (USBFS) has earned “Top Rated” status in eight categories in the Global Custodian 2010 Mutual Fund Administration Survey.
The survey covered 13 service providers and evaluated client service/relationship management, value, fund accounting and valuations, transfer agency, distribution support, portfolio servicing, fund reporting and compliance.
As a “Top Rated” provider, USBFS achieved a weighted average score that equaled or was better than the scores of providers in the following categories:
- Single provider: respondents using one provider to support their fund products;
- Multiple providers: respondents using two or more providers to support their fund products;
- $100 million –$1 billion: respondents’ total assets under administration;
- $1 billion – $5 billion: respondents’ total assets under administration;
- North American: geographical region of respondents;
- Equity: fund types managed by respondents;
- Fixed income: fund types managed by respondents and
- Other funds: fund types managed by respondents, including offshore, hedge, pooled institutional, real estate, private equity, and commodity fund types.
“The ‘Top Rated’ awards are particularly gratifying as it demonstrates our client service capabilities relative to other major providers of mutual fund services,” said Joe Redwine, president of USBFS. “These results validate our commitments to employing great people and reinvesting in our business to benefit our clients. We built our company by listening to our clients and customizing our comprehensive services to specific client situations.”
