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 […]

Berlusconi convenes final Cabinet meeting, to quit

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi has convened his final Cabinet meeting before his expected resignation that will set in motion a political transition aimed at bringing back the country from the brink of economic crisis.
Berlusconi met with his ministers Saturday after parliament’s lower Chamber of Deputies passed European-demanded economic reforms. The Senate passed the legislation Friday, […]

Murdoch tabloid spied on hacking victims’ lawyers

Rupert Murdoch’s British newspaper company spied on two lawyers who represent alleged victims of phone hacking by its tabloid News of the World, the firm acknowledged Monday.
News International said lawyers Mark Lewis and Charlotte Harris “were subject to surveillance,” a practice it called “inappropriate.”
The BBC and The Guardian newspaper reported Monday that Lewis and Harris […]

APNewsBreak: Party member urges Greek PM to resign

A senior Greek governing party lawmaker says he will not support the government in a critical confidence vote unless Prime Minister George Papandreou pledges to resign over the weekend and start talks on a caretaker government.
The lawmaker made the comment to The Associated Press hours before the Friday confidence vote, speaking on condition of anonymity […]

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 […]

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 […]

Protesters turn on each other with petrol bombs, stones in Athens

ATHENS, GREECE

Merkel, Sarkozy reach agreement on bank sector

The leaders of Germany and France, the eurozone’s two biggest economies, say they have reached agreement on strengthening Europe’s shaky banking sector.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she and French President Nicolas Sarkozy “are determined to do the necessary to ensure the recapitalization of Europe’s banks.”
Merkel spoke after talks with Sarkozy at Berlin’s chancellery Sunday aimed […]

Apple unveils new iPhone 4S

CUPERTINO, CALIF.