Latvia Elections Likely to ‘Weigh On’ Credit Rating, Fitch Says

Latvian elections this autumn threaten to hamper government efforts to push through austerity measures vital to its international bailout, burdening the country’s credit rating, Fitch Ratings said.
A parliamentary election scheduled for October “weighs on the rating, the uncertainty that comes with the election, and I think there might be resistance to removing the […]

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WordPress.com crashes, downs major blogs

WordPress.com, the fast growing hosting service for millions of blogs, including TechCrunch and GigaOm, crashed briefly Thursday afternoon.
"WordPress.com will be back in a minute!" is the message that appeared shortly before 3 p.m. on some portion of the websites using the San Francisco blogging platform, which serves millions of blogs with a combined 72.2 million […]

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Revenue drops at all local casinos, except the beleaguered President

January was a tough month for St. Louis-area casinos, as the recession and cold weather teamed up to tamp down business.
Gambling revenue at the region’s six casinos fell by 4 percent in the month compared to last year, according to figures out Wednesday from Missouri and Illinois regulators. Every casino saw business fall. […]

Great Florida Bank loses $16M

The losses continued for Great Florida Bank in the fourth quarter, but it succeeded in paring down its problem loans.
The Miami Lakes-based bank (NASDAQ: GFLB) suffered a net loss of $15.9 million in the fourth quarter, following a $13.3 million loss in the third quarter, according to its filing with the Federal Financial Institutions Examination […]

HOK completes Indiana job

St. Louis-based HOK architects provided the design, planning, structural engineering and interior design work on the new 254-bed Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center in Mishawaka, Ind.
The $224 million project includes a two-story diagnostic and treatment center with a six-story tower that has an emergency department, imaging center, diagnostics and 16 operating rooms. Inpatient […]

Conditions set for merger of Ticketmaster, Live Nation

LOS ANGELES—Both U.S. and Canadian governments have imposed major conditions upon Live Nation and Ticketmaster in approving the companies’ merger.
Shares in both companies jumped in trading Monday after reports surfaced earlier that the merger would be approved.
Included in the settlement is a requirement that Ticketmaster would have to license its ticketing software to competitor AEG […]

U.S. retailer targets Canada

The much-loved “cheap-chic” discount chain, Target Corp., referred to by fans as "Tar-Jay," says it has Canada in its sights as part of a future international expansion plan.
Like many U.S. retailers, Target is mulling a move outside its home market after sales and profits took a nosedive in the past year.
The announcement comes years after […]

Consumer confidence in 2nd straight boost

A key measure of consumer confidence rose for a second straight month in December, a research group said Tuesday, with outlook for the next few months reaching a 2-year high.
The Conference Board, a New York-based research group, said its Consumer Confidence Index rose to 52.9 in December, from an upwardly revised 50.6 in November.
Economists […]

Sovereign wealth funds on the hunt

After months of relative silence, sovereign wealth funds, the huge, state-owned vehicles that export-rich countries use to invest their reserves, are on the prowl again.
"[Funds] are researching deals and trying to get things lined up," says R.P. Eddy, CEO of Ergo, a research firm that advises some of the world’s biggest sovereign wealth […]

Luxury prices: To cut or not to cut?

Step into Nordstrom a year ago for handmade Italian pumps and flats from designer Anyi Lu and you’d be shelling out as much as $595 a pair. This season, everything in the spring collection that hits stores next month goes for under $400. For CEO David Spatz, adjusting prices downward simply made sense: "The […]