Looking for a job? This top-employer list might be a place to start

The 40 largest employers in the St. Louis region represent just a tiny fraction of all local employers. But they wield tremendous hiring clout, employing more than 260,000 people, or a fifth of all jobs here.
If only they were hiring more. Just 12 of the 40 are actively recruiting to expand their workforce, according to […]

Ask the expert: Gary Fischer, Ross & Baruzzini

What is a lean health care project, and what is its most important ingredient?
Lean health care construction projects are, by their nature, fast-track and don’t leave room for redesign. Under such projects, contractors order materials and begin construction while the design is being completed. Redesign can lead directly to cost increases. Poor starts in design […]

Olympus denies wrongdoing as groups urge reforms

The new president of embattled Olympus Corp. on Thursday denied the company’s $687 million payment for financial advice was excessive, while foreign business groups urged Japan to bolster its lagging corporate governance rules to avoid more high-level scandals.
Shuichi Takayama, who was named president Wednesday following the abrupt resignation of Chairman and President Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, sought […]

Centene stock soars after company posts higher profits

Shares of Centene Corp. stock rose 9 percent today in the wake of an earnings report that showed the Clayton-based firm had corralled additional revenue from managing health care services for the poor.
By 3 p.m., Centene was selling for about $31.77 per share, up from $29.07 at Monday’s close of the New York Stock Exchange.
Increased premium and service revenues helped […]

Chinese officials jailed for leaking economic data

China said Monday that two officials have been jailed for leaking economic data to securities brokerages and four people who work in the financial industry are being investigated.
The National Administration for Protection of State Secrets said the officials shared classified data numerous times though it gave no specific details about the information or the impact […]

Welcome to the new arms race between online protection and oversharing

The rise of social media is pitting people who value privacy against those who want to share their lives with others.
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Protesters turn on each other with petrol bombs, stones in Athens

ATHENS, GREECE

BSkyB profit up despite TV subscriptions slowdown

British Sky Broadcasting PLC, in which Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. has a large minority stake, saw its first quarter profits rise further as increasing sales of telephone and broadband packages offset a slowdown in new television subscriptions
The company said Wednesday that profit on continuing operations in the three months to end-September rose by 24 percent […]

Putin praises himself as ‘most hardworking’ leader

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has praised himself as Russia’s “most hardworking” leader since World War II.
In his first lengthy interview since last month’s announcement that he will seek a third presidential term, the 59-year-old prime minister said that Communist-era leaders were not physically capable and did not have “the will” to run the country […]

Dollar cost averaging smooths out volatility

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could smooth out all the rough spots in your personal investments?
Many investors have wondered just that during this frenetic market year that is constantly being buffeted by world events. Too often, they boldly invest when stock prices are high, then fearfully halt their investing or sell their holdings altogether […]