Ralcorp, Post announce new board lineups

Ralcorp Holdings and Post Holdings, the branded cereal business that’s being spun off as a separate company, announced the lineup of each company’s board of directors.
The board appointments are effective when the spin-off of Post is finalized, which is expected to occur at the end of this month.
The new configuration of St. Louis-based Ralcorp’s board […]

Raymond James wins bidding war to buy Morgan Keegan

After more than six months on the auction block, Florida-based Raymond James Financial emerged as the winning bidder to acquire Morgan Keegan & Co., a Memphis-based brokerage that’s a powerhouse in municipal bond underwriting.
Raymond James was competing with St. Louis-based Stifel Financial in the final days leading up to Wednesday’s sale announcement, but Stifel’s bid […]

Republican Senators Say Fed Overstepped Its Role With Advice on Housing - Bloomberg

Republican Senators Orrin Hatch of Utah and Bob Corker of Tennessee criticized the Federal Reserve for overstepping its role by making policy recommendations on how the U.S. government should try new ways to spur the housing market.
Hatch, the top-ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said the housing study sent by Chairman Ben S. […]

Code Year draws 200,000 aspiring programmers

"Learn to program" isn’t a typical New Year’s resolution, but it’s one that’s gone viral thanks to a clever campaign by Codecademy, a startup that helps newbies learn the basics of software coding.
The New York-based venture kicked off 2012 by launching Code Year. Sign up for the free project and you’ll receive an interactive […]

Euro-Area Crisis Presents Significant Risk for South Africa, Lagarde Says - Bloomberg

South Africa has become increasingly integrated into the global economy, leaving it exposed to

Jobless claims fall 15,000 last week

Private-sector hiring surged in December as employers added 325,000 new workers while claims for jobless benefits fell, raising hope that recent labor market improvement would continue in 2012.
The ADP National Employment Report’s December job tally surprised economists who had expected a 178,000 gain. It was also well above the 204,000 private jobs added in […]

TSX starts 2012 trading on positive note

TORONTO

Iran dismisses sanction impact on currency

Iran said Tuesday that the steep depreciation in the country’s currency against the U.S. dollar was not linked to U.S. new sanctions targeting its Central Bank, while officials geared up for a meeting to assess possible measures to shore up the riyal in an already ailing economy.
Since President Barack Obama on Saturday signed into law […]

What might you buy this year?

EQUITIES
Analysts tend to favor large U.S. stocks. Things abroad are still too worrisome, they say.
Mark Keller, CEO of Confluence Investment Management, likes big stocks with dividends. On his list are Ferguson-based Emerson along with 3M, PepsiCo, Microsoft and Wal-Mart. “They’re reasonably priced, pay a nice dividend, and they have rising dividends,” he says.
“They might go […]