Business

Adversaries in the contentious pro football labor battle convened in a Federal Appeals Court in St. Louis on Friday.

The National Football League is appealing an April injunction from a Minnesota Judge that temporarily lifted the lockout.

The NFL Players Association is in the process of suing the league, claiming that the lockout in violation of federal anti-trust laws.

Paul Clement is an attorney for the NFL team owners; he told a three-judge panel that the issue before them is one for labor laws to decide.

Arch Coal has cleared a key regulatory hurdle facing its proposed $3.4 billion takeover of rival International Coal Group.

Scott Depot-based ICG and St. Louis-based Arch announced Wednesday that the the antitrust waiting period under U.S. law has expired. That satisfies one condition for the deal to close.

Arch agreed to buy ICG on May 2 and has since started a $14.60-a-share tender offer. The offer expires June 14.

A new report says Missouri's unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest point in about two years.

The state Department of Economic Development says April's jobless rate was 8.9 percent, down two-tenths of a point from March. That's the state's lowest unemployment rate since March 2009.

Monday's monthly report also shows a net gain of 2,500 nonfarm jobs in Missouri last month. The agency says the biggest growth came in construction, manufacturing and retail trade.