When there is an elephant in the room, it is best to acknowledge it. For the United States, the next four years will be Obama. For China, the next 10 years will be Xi.

The Brown Deer Road retail corridor has suffered mightily since Northridge Mall closed in 2003.

Analysts for the National Association of Realtors (NAR) say fundamentals are shifting in favor of a national housing market recovery.

I recently met someone who used the term “social business” instead of the common “social media” vernacular. Whichever term, social media activities must be strategic extensions of a business' marketing and communications plans. If not, it's a waste of time and resources.

What was the smartest thing your company did in the past year?

Wisconsin credit unions grew their combined net income by 96 percent in the first nine months of 2012 compared with the same period last year, according to the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (DFI). Their net income grew to $164.7 million, up from $84 million for the first three quarters of 2011.

When Polyfab Corp. lost its biggest customer last year, the company had to figure out how to make up for a loss of 36 percent of its business.

As nonprofit organizations engage their communities through social media, creating measurement plans to gauge the impact of their social media efforts can help them communicate across platforms more effectively.

The Brewers Community Foundation (BCF) and the Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club raised more than $3.5 million during the 2012 season, with support coming from Brewers ownership, fans, players and other sponsors.

Factoring is the purchase of accounts receivable invoices at a discount. It's a simple means for a small business to maintain working capital to enable growth.

Phelan Development and WiRED Properties have proposed a four-story building with 36 apartments, underground parking, 6,628 square feet of retail space and 10,600 square feet of salon space for Cody & Co. at a former fire station site at 1463 Underwood Ave., in the downtown village area of Wauwatosa.

The Ability Center, a nonprofit organization, is raising funds in hopes of building a $53 million, 230,000-square-foot fitness, athletic and recreational facility in Milwaukee County for people with physical and cognitive disabilities.