Business News (12-19-11)

In Business News for Monday, December 19th, 2011, Business Journal's Wendy Strong discusses Ward's House of Prime making an appearance on the Travel Channel Wednesday night on a show called "Big Beef Paradise," which features the best places in the country to get huge slabs of beef. The show features an interview with owner, Brian Ward, and a recent contest at the restaurant where contestants tried to eat 10 pounds of prime rib in an hour.

Also, there's a glimmer of hope for home sales in southeastern Wisconsin. The region's November sales were up just over 21 percent, compared with the same time last year. Southeastern Wisconsin also beat last year's sales through November, while the rest of hte state saw a slight overall drop for the year.

Finally, instead of bell ringers at the door, Target is donating gift cards to the Salvation Army. The store donated hundreds of gift cards to the organization for its Christmas programs. The retailer doesn't allow bell ringers because of its solicitation policy.