SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2010 A BETTER DECADE? You can learn from the mistakes of the BUSINESS last 10 years. PERSONAL FINANCE, PAGE C3

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EXECUTIVE Q&A Much has changed since we would go out and showpeople what the Internet was, what the IMS began providing Webwas.” MARK CLEAR Web site services in 1995. That wasthe challengeof1995. Co-founder and chief executive officer of In the 15 yearsthat followed, Clear IMS, a developer of content management By PATRICIA SIMMS has been navigating aspiraling systems for Web sites [email protected] economyand the changing needs Address: 133 S. Butler St. 608-252-6492 of businesscustomers. Web site: IMS.net Q: Howdid you getinto this When MarkClear co-founded business? Employees: 4 IMS in 1995,hehad to explain the A: My co-founder and Iwere 2008 sales: $400,000 Internet to potential clients. working at another software Founded: 1995 “Wewould go and meet with company—WingraTechnologies Age: 46 people over lunch hour and or —that wasdoing e-mail software. Hometown: Madison in the evening, which wasvery This waslate1994. So we had inconvenient and took alot of some exposuretothe Internet and Family: Wife, Janet; daughters Sierra, 16, and Naomi, 12 explaining becausethe ideaof had seen the Web, and Ihad ex- part-time businessesatthe time perimented with aWeb sitefor the PATRICIA SIMMS – State Journal Education: Attended UW-Madison wasreallyverydifferent,”Clear Mark Clear is chief executive officer of IMS, a Madison company said. “Webought alaptop,and Please see CLEAR, Page C4 that develops content management systems for Web sites.

WISCONSIN STOCKS YEAR IN REVIEW 2009 ‘just outstanding’

Heavy industry led way for stocks; banks still under ‘significant clouds;’ optimistic outlook for year

By JUDY NEWMAN [email protected] 608-252-6156 InvestorsinWisconsin stockshad reason to smile —for the most part —when theychecked their portfoliosonNew Year’sDay. Therewas a“tremendous rebound” from the depths to which most stock prices had sunk in late2008 and early 2009,inWisconsin as well as nationwide, said Todd Parrish, analystwith Robert W. Baird&Co.,. “When you look at the final numbers, theyare just outstand- ing.” The major national indices tell the tale: Nasdaq,up43.9percent; Russell 2000,up25.2 percent; Standard&Poor’s500 Index, up 23.5 percent; and the DowJones industrial average, oshkosh Corp. up 18.8 percent. orders from the U.S. Defense Department for this M-ATV have helped boost the stock of oshkosh Corp., which ended 2009 at Forty-three of the 60 Wisconsin companies $37.03 a share, a 321 percent jump from its Dec. 31, 2008, close. The armored truck, designed for use in Afghanistan, has a whose stock waspubliclytraded in 2009 —or specialized suspension system and is made for off-road handling. 72 percent —ended the year higher than ayear ago, including about half adozenthat morethan Madison-based stocks doubled their year-agoprices. INSIDE PRICE PRICE That’s asharp improvement over the Dec. 31, NAME OF COMPANY 12/31/2008 12/31/2009 % CHANGE 2008,close,whereonlyseven Wisconsin com- • A full list of state stock TomoTherapy Inc.2.38 3.90 63.87 panies recorded year-over-yeargains. But afew nagging concerns remain: performances in 2009. Great Wolf Resorts Inc.1.54 2.37 53.90 •Bank stocksare still struggling; all are PAGE C6 MGE Energy Inc.33.00 35.74 13.25 among the bottom 10 Wisconsin stocksthat Sonic Foundry Inc.4.30 4.8512.79 ended the year with the biggest pricedeclines. • Several companies in and •ManyWisconsin companies have not yet around Madison found 2009 to Alliant Energy Corp.29.18 30.269.83 bounced back to their 2007stock prices. be a good year overall for their First Business Financial 13.009.62-26.00 •Abig question for2010 is: howlong will the stock prices. Services rebound continue? PAGE C7 Anchor BanCorp Wisconsin 2.76 0.63-77.17 Strength in heavy industry Inc. Heavyindustrymade up four of the state’sfive highest percentagegainersin2009: Oshkosh Top 10 Wisconsin stocks of 2009 Bottom 10 Wisconsin stocks of 2009 Corp., Bucyrus International, Modine Manufac- PRICE PRICE PRICE PRICE turing and JoyGlobal. NAME OF COMPANY 12/31/2008 12/31/2009 % CHANGE NAME OF COMPANY 12/31/2008 12/31/2009 % CHANGE Oshkoshtopped the list, with itsshares closing oshkosh Corp.8.89 37.03321.02 Anchor Bancorp 2.76 0.63-77.17 2009 at $37.03,upfrom$8.89ayearearlier —a Bucyrus International 18.52 56.37205.76 Wisconsin Inc. 321 percent jump.Militaryordershavedriventhe Inc. Marshall & Ilsley Corp.13.64 5.45 -59.77 stock up,Parrish said. Last summer,Oshkosh Merge Healthcare Inc.1.283.36 162.50 Associated Banc-Corp.20.93 11.01 -45.65 wona$3.2billion contract to makearmored Modine Manufacturing 4.8711.84 143.12 Waterstone Financial 3.35 2.05 -38.81 trucksfor useonthe front lines in Afghanistan. Inc. Co. More recently, last week, the companyan- Bank Mutual Corp.11.54 6.93 -37.55 Inc.22.89 51.57130.76 nounced a$290million order from the Armyfor Ziegler Cos. 20.8513.50 -35.25 Metavante 16.11 33.70 109.19 armed truck-and-trailer combinations to deliver Weyco Group Inc.33.05 23.64 -26.60 Technologies* supplies and a$33 million contract to put rear- Broadwind Energy Inc.4.50 8.09 79.78 First Business 13.009.62-26.00 Financial Services viewcamerasystems on the armored trucks. Johnson outdoors Inc. 5.57 9.77 75.34 “I think maybethe commitment in Afghani- (Cl A) Marcus Corp.16.23 12.82-18.88 stan has psychologicallyhelped the stock, as Plexus Corp.16.95 28.4868.02 orion Energy Systems 5.41 4.39 -18.85 MGIC Investment Corp.3.485.7866.09 Inc. well,”Parrish said. “Hopefully, as the year Source: Robert W. Baird & Co. * Metavante was purchased by FIS on 10/1/09 with a closing value of 33.70 Prices adjusted for splits; top and bottom lists only include stocks trading at $1 Please see STOCKS, Page C6 or more for at least part of the year

ECONOMIC SNAPSHOT

Personal Finance Think rent-to-own sounds like a good deal? Think again Week 2: The true costs he Packersare in the playoffs. The annual interest rate on renting to I\ek$kf$fne X gif]`kXYc\ `e[ljkip of rent-to-own Wouldn’titbenicetowatch the game ownthis television is morethan 150percent. Annual revenues in the U.S. and Canada Ton anew big-screen television? Instead, youcould setaside $200 amonth from 1995 to 2007 Compiled by You’ve seen the ads.You canrent to own and in six to sevenmonths,you could simply 8 Bill Pinkovitz, Professor, abig-screen television with no credit check purchasethe TV.Anevenbetter alternative s 7 6.6 6.7 6.8 UW-Extension. and have it deliveredfreeintime forthe might be to buyanice19-inch television 6.3 dollar 6.0 6.2 playoffs.That’s an offer that is hardtoresist, from alocal vendor forabout $200. 6 of 5.6 QUESTIoNS? Contact 5.3 especiallyatplayofftime. What about the Packer game? Plenty 5.0 Bill Pinkovitz at 4.7 Amajor Wisconsin rent-to-own business of local establishmentsfeaturebig-screen 5 4.4 bill.pinkovitz@ 4.1

billions 3.9 ces.uwex.edu. is offering a52-inch high-definition televi- televisions.Evenifyou buyaround forthe 4 sion foralittle over $200 per month. After 24 houseafter each Packer score,you’ll likelybe in 3 Economic Snapshot months,you will have paid about $4,900 in moneyahead. is a weekly feature rent and youwill ownthe television. Despitethe high costtoconsumers, the venue 2 provided by the re However, youwill have spent over three rent-to-own businessisflourishing. Ac- 1 times what it would costyou to simplypur- cording to the Association of Progressive chasethe same television. Rental Organizations,3.2 million households Annual 0 3 2 7 95 97 98 96 Asurveyofprices from avarietyoftra- spent $6.3 billion at the 8,500 rent-to-own 99 19 19 19 19 19 2001 200 200 2005 200 2006 2004 ditional retailersand online vendorsreveals stores in the U.S. and Canada in 2007. The 2000 that the same television canbepurchased for following chart illustrates the growth in the Source: Association of Progressive Rental Organizations, http://www.rtohq.org/ State Journal between $1,250 and $1,400. rent-to-own revenues since1995.