Italy again pays more to borrow

Italy paid sharply higher borrowing rates in an auction that raised euro567 million ($750 million), as markets continued to pressure the eurozone’s third largest economy to come up with reforms urgently.
Yields on 12-year bonds skyrocketed to 7.20 percent, a full 2.7 percentage points higher than last month.
While there were enough bids to cover the maximum […]

Large-cap growth funds most resilient this year

Large-cap growth funds have held up better than most other types of stock funds this year.
Previously ignored, big-name companies that have rapidly rising earnings become more attractive in uncertain times than their riskier small-cap counterparts.
Their strong balance sheets, economy-resistant businesses, ample cash reserves and trend toward dividends make sense for risk-averse investors who never thought […]

Holland Construction Services starts renovations

Holland Construction Services Inc. started extensive renovations at Memorial Care Center at 4315 Memorial Drive in Belleville.
The $6 million project includes an upgrade to the center’s exterior façade and indoor renovations of 34,000 square feet.
The renovations will involve 56 patient rooms, administrative offices, dining, living and reception rooms and a therapy area. Shower rooms, utility […]

Slightly more people seek unemployment benefits

The number of people seeking unemployment benefits ticked up slightly last week after two months of steady declines.
But the increase isn’t enough to reverse the downward trend. The four-week average of applications, a less volatile measure, fell to its lowest level since April. The decline in the average signals that companies are laying off fewer […]

US stocks drop as debt talks near collapse

Stocks are taking a sharp fall in early trading Monday amid reports that a congressional committee will fail to agree on a plan to cut the U.S. government’s budget deficit. The Dow Jones industrial average is down more than 200 points.
A 12-member bipartisan panel is supposed to agree on at least $1.2 trillion in budget […]

Financier Theodore Forstmann dies

Theodore J. Forstmann, a longtime financier who counted the iconic baseball card company Topps and business jet company Gulfstream Aerospace among his buyouts, died Sunday at the age of 71.
The cause was brain cancer, according to a statement from sports agency IMG. Forstmann was the chairman and CEO of IMG and was the senior founding […]

Deadline looms for $750-million rice settlement

LITTLE ROCK, Ark cash advance now.

US stocks edge down as investors weigh jobs, Spain

Stocks are opening slightly lower as investors balance spiking bond yields in Spain with signs of growth in the U.S. economy.
An auction of 10-year bonds in Spain left the country paying interest rates of nearly 7 percent. That is the highest rate since 1997 and a level that economists see as unsustainable.
In the U.S., applications […]

Kerr to step down as Missouri economic development boss

The man in charge of boosting Missouri’s economy is stepping down.
David Kerr, director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development, will leave at the end of the year, Gov. Jay Nixon’s office said Tuesday.
Kerr, a longtime executive at AT&T in Missouri and Kansas before entering the public sector, said he was stepping down to spend […]

World stocks up as Europe stabilizes, Japan grows

World stocks rose Monday after Japan’s economy grew for the first time in four quarters and Europe moved closer to resolving a debt crisis that threatens to hurl the region into recession.
Benchmark oil hovered near $99 per barrel while the dollar gained against the euro but fell against the yen.
European stocks were higher in early […]