China shadow looming, Taiwan’s Ma set for 2nd term

Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou has leveraged growing economic ties with China to reduce tensions to their lowest level since the two sides split in 1949. China’s incessant effort to draw the democratic island closer politically has been on the back burner, and as Ma’s second term begins Sunday the question is whether he can keep […]

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Concord Bank CEO Tony Feraro dies

Tony Feraro, the president and CEO of Concord Bank in South St. Louis County, died Wednesday. He was 64.
Feraro joined the bank in November 2008.
“The entire Concord Bank family mourns the loss of Tony,” said Concord Bank chairman Earl Gates in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife and four children, and […]

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Chesapeake tumbles on debt snag

Shares of Chesapeake Energy plunged late Friday after the heavily indebted firm revealed that it may be forced to delay some asset sales.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Chesapeake (, Fortune 500) said it may have to postpone some previously planned sales of assets, such as oil and gas wells, because […]

Egyptian troops, protesters clash in Cairo

Egyptian armed forces and protesters clashed in Cairo on Friday, with troops firing water cannons and tear gas at demonstrators who threw stones as they tried to march on the Defense Ministry, a flashpoint for a new cycle of violence only weeks ahead of presidential elections.
It was the second time this week that clashes have […]

Wall Street Journal remains No. 1

NEW YORK • U.S. newspapers reported a slight increase in circulation over the past year as more readers purchased digital subscriptions, according to a media industry group. Average daily circulation in the six months that ended on March 31, rose nearly 1 percent for the 618 newspapers that participated in the Audit Bureau of Circulations […]

St. Louis’ latest honor: best city for cheapskates

At first blush, it may not seem like an honor to be called the best city for cheapskates.
But upon further reflection, St. Louis’ clinching of the top spot in Kiplinger.com’s list of top 10 cities for cheapskates may just be something to brag about.
After all, the website came up with the list by comparing a […]

King Faces 10 Days of Angst on BOE Stimulus as Recession Festers - Bloomberg

Bank of England Governor Mervyn King has 10 days left to make up his mind on whether he can risk halting stimulus for an economy trying to shake off a recession.
Reports starting tomorrow on manufacturing, construction and services, as well as consumer credit and house prices, will set the scene for data crunching by […]

Hollande Criticism Shows He Doesn

Francois Hollande

Consumer Spending Probably Paced Growth: U.S. Economy Preview - Bloomberg

The biggest gain in consumer spending in a year probably helped the U.S. economy keep expanding in the first quarter even as fuel costs climbed, economists said before a report this week.
Gross domestic product, the value of all goods and services the nation produced, rose at a 2.5 percent annual rate after advancing 3 […]

Yahoo CEO: ‘We don’t need to reinvent who we are’

New Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson is the latest leader to promise a splashy turnaround — and though it’s an old party line by now, the earnings for his first full quarter on the job were upbeat.
Yahoo (, Fortune 500) pulled in 23 cents a share on $1.07 billion in sales for the first quarter, […]