Just how unfair and deceptive are some credit card policies? So unfair that federal regulators have taken the unprecedented step of trying to ban some of the more egregious industry practices.

Lake Michigan is more than a recreational attraction. It also fuels more 120 water-related businesses in the Milwaukee area, including world-class companies on the cutting edge of water technologies: Veolia Water, ITT Corp., GE Water & Process Technologies and Siemens.

Oligopoly: When a few firms dominate a market. Together, they can behave as if they were single monopoly, perhaps by forming a cartel. Or they may collude informally, by prefering non-price competition to a price war.

Engineers, skilled machinists and welders are among the hardest-to-fill jobs in the Milwaukee area. Nurses are hot, so to speak, and computer network professionals are also at a premium, according to interviews with area recruiters and Manpower Inc.’s annual survey of employers.

1. Engineers 2. Machinists/Machine Operators 3. Skilled Trades...

Seek out the 20 Milwaukee-area Fair Trade shops offering special activities and deals on World Fair Trade Day on Saturday, May 10. Vendors in Bay View, Riverwest, the Washington Park neighborhood and elsewhere are promoting Fair Trade goods to shoppers, along with a simple message: Consumers have the power to protect the natural environment while promoting sustainable development around the world.

Even if you don’t have an alt-fuel car, you can try “EcoDriving,” a term coined by gasstrapped Europeans that means “to drive a vehicle in the most fuel-efficient manner possible, to save fuel and to lower emissions.” In some EU countries, EcoDriving proficiency...

“I WISH EVERY CAR COULD BE LIKE THIS!” Seven-year-old Annie Rhoads was mesmerized by a ZAP Xebra sedan at the recent Home and Garden Show at State Fair Park. The electric car comes with zebra-stripe decals, runs on three wheels and looks like a cross between a golf cart and a VW Beetle.