Economy & Innovation

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: In the midst of an economic downturn, when unemployment rates hover at 5 percent nationally, it is taking some college students in St. Louis longer to find jobs than usual.

For a few moments during finals week, Cadence Rippeto felt relieved. She finished the last exam of her senior year and stepped into a drizzly day. Then, her relief evaporated.

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: Wachovia Corp. spent $6.9 billion to acquire A.G. Edwards; and the last thing the banking giant wants is a mass defection of brokers, who have rated higher on some customer satisfaction and broker satisfaction surveys than do Wachovia brokers.

"Whenever you buy a brokerage business, it's difficult to keep all the brokers," says Jaime Peters, who tracks big banks for the independent financial research firm Morningstar. She and other analysts note that A.G. Edwards' broker turnover rate over the years has been one of the lowest in the industry.

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: There's more than a little irony that Wachovia Corp. announced its bid for A.G. Edwards around Memorial Day last year.

The acquisition marked the passing of another St. Louis headquarters and signaled the inevitable loss of jobs when two companies mate in the name of synergy.

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: Got a rebate? The IRS has begun sending out more than $100 billion in economic stimulus payments to 130 million U.S. households. Here's what your windfall can buy in the St. Louis region.

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: America’s love-hate relationship with Wal-Mart may have reached a zenith this spring when the discount chain won its case seeking nearly half a million dollars from a former shelf-stocker left brain-damaged after a car accident.

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: A $50,000 cash bribe paid by an agent of Monsanto Co. to an Indonesian environmental official is at the center of a story in today's New York Times about the Justice Department's more relaxed approach toward corporate crime.