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Economy

Wall Street gyrations got you down? Ignore them, market watchers say

By Dale Singer, Beacon staff
Updated 1:02 pm Sun., 8.7.11
Thursday, two days after the debt-ceiling deal was done, stocks went into freefall, with the Dow having its worst day since 2008. Friday, the markets gyrated wildly, rising on a better-than-expected jobs report, then plunging again, then rebounding to end up in positive territory. After the markets closed, Standard & Poor's downgraded U.S. debt for the first time in history, setting the stage for more dramatic movement on worldwide markets. So what happened to start the roller coaster on its wild ride? What's next? (REUTERS/Chip East photo)

Debt deal's done, but does it make sense?

By Dale Singer, Beacon staff
Updated 3:45 pm Tue., 8.2.11
After weeks of speeches, posturing and negotiations, Congress has finally raised the nation's debt ceiling, just hours before the country could have been forced to default on its obligations. But just because the deal is done doesn't mean that economists and others like it — or even think that it was necessary.

Municipalities scramble for bigger slice of county's shrinking sales tax pie

By Hilary Davidson, special to the Beacon
Posted 8:51 am Wed., 7.27.11
A fight is brewing among the 91 municipalities of St. Louis County over the countywide 1 percent sales tax, which produced $140 million in 2010, down from a peak of $160 million in 2007. The question is: Should the proceeds of the sales tax stay within the city where the cash was spent or be shared with other communities? The St. Louis County Municipal League is studying the issue.

As debt debate drags on, its effects raise concern

By Dale Singer, Beacon staff
Posted 1:30 pm Tue., 7.26.11
With the deadline fast approaching to lift the debt ceiling, the war of words in Washington continues to escalate. Closer to home, the Beacon talked with people in various sectors to see what they thought the effect of a default might be — and what they thought of the political theater now playing in Washington.

Using technology to take care of business

By Abby Spudich, Beacon intern
Posted 11:54 am Tue., 6.21.11
Businesses have been quick to turn to social media to help build business and foster customer feedback. Pi Pizzeria, though, has gone beyond Twitter and Facebook. It's the only local company that uses Card Case, which allows customers to pay with their cell phones, and Pi owner Chris Sommers is developing Sqwid, an iPhone app he describes as a 21st-century comment card.

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Editors' Picks

Nation
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission approves licenses for first new nuclear power plants in 30 years: The reactors are being built in Georgia by a consortium of utilities. | CNN
- Indian tribe sues A-B InBev, other beer companies: The suit from the Oglala Sioux claims the companies sold beer to stores that then sold it to residents of South Dakota's Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where alcohol is banned. | Rapid City Journal
- House joins Senate in overwhelmingly approving a congressional insider-trading ban:Now, the two chambers must get together to iron out differences before bill can go to the White House. | Politico
- Picture this: Kodak, in bankruptcy, will stop making digital cameras, pocket video cameras and digital picture frames. | Bloomberg
Region
- Science Center lays off 24 employees to save more than $2 million: The move affects about 9 percent of the workforce and involve mostly full-time employees, including at least one top official. | STLtoday
- Less-intrusive screening for some passengers coming to Lambert, other airports: There will be no cost to eligible passengers, who would no longer have to remove their shoes and belts before they board flights. | AP
- Missouri teen gets life in prison, with possibility of parole, for killing her young neighbor: Alyssa Bustamante was 15 years old in 2009 when she killed 9-yaer-old Elizabeth Olten because she wanted to know how it would feel. | AP/Columbia Daily Tribune
- Lakin to spend additional year behind bars: The former Madison County powerbroker's federal sentence was extended following his guilty plea to state sex charges. | Belleville News-Democrat
World
- Greek leaders agree on package of harsh austerity measures: The changes were demanded by Greece’s financial backers in return for the country’s latest bailout, estimated at $172 billion. | New York Times
- After more shelling in Syria, Assad accused of genocide: Dozens are said to have died in sustained attack on city of Homs. | Telegraph
- Last known living World War I veteran dies at age 110: Florence Green was serving with the Women's Royal Air Force as a waitress at an air base in eastern England when the guns fell silent on Nov. 11, 1918. | AP
- After weeks of protest, first democratically elected president of Maldives resigns: Mohamed Nasheed told a televised news conference, "I don't want to run the country with an iron fist." | LA Times
Econ.
- Initial claims for unemployment aid fall to 358,000: The four-week moving average, a less-volatile measure of claims, declined to 366,250, the lowest since April 26, 2008. | Bloomberg
- Driven by demand for auto and student loans, Americans borrowed more than expected in December: An improving job market may be giving households the courage to take on more debt in order to sustain spending. | Bloomberg
- Job openings increased in December by the most in almost a year: The number of positions waiting to be filled climbed by 258,000, the biggest gain since February 2011, to 3.38 million. | Bloomberg
- Home sales rise in December to their highest level since last January: Historically low mortgage rates and a pickup in employment may be giving Americans the confidence to purchase homes that have fallen in value. | Bloomberg
Edu.
- Ten states will get waivers from requirements of No Child Left Behind: In a first round of waivers, Washington will give leeway to states that promise to improve how they prepare and evaluate students. | AP
- Nixon restores $40 million to his budget request for higher education: The money is part of a foreclosure settlement Missouri will get from the nation's five largest banks. | Columbia Daily Tribune
- Entire staff of LA elementary school is replaced during abuse investigation: Two teachers have been accused of lewd acts against students. | LA Times
- Nixon says Missouri universities should not make up lost state funding with big tuition hikes: He said they should try to keep increases at no more than annual cost of living. | AP/Springfield News-Leader

'The Road Show' improv

Brent Jones | St. Louis Beacon

This Saturday was the debut of a new show by The Improv Shop that will bring out of town improv teams to St. Louis to play for — and with — a local audience. The Road Show brought teams "Everybody Grok" and "Felt" from Chicago.

We talked to Eric Christensen, producer of the Road Show and member of local improv team "Ted Dangerous"; Katie Nunn, member of "Ted Dangerous" and improv coach; and Melanie Penn and Ranjan Khan, members of local teams "Melanj" and "Magic Ratio"; about the St. Louis improv scene and why it's important to welcome teams from other cities to perform here.

See a larger version of the slideshow

Topics

Survival jobs: A temporary strategy is becoming the new normal

"Survival jobs" are a thread to hold onto as the underemployed wait for the economy to recover. This story is part of a larger look at class in the region, our series Class: The Great Divide

See all featured topics stories

Voices

Oh Bob, where art thou?

M.W. Guzy takes a sighting of Baton Bob in a Super Bowl crowd to reflect on St. Louis and the Rams.
MSD and sustainable infrastructure

Doug Williams says the proposed consent decree before the U.S. district court here may not be perfect, but it's the best way to move forward to stop the costs of inadquate waste- and storm-water systems.
'Real' TV from Snooki to Mitt

M.W. Guzy fears his daughters' affection for trash TV might have been genetically inherited, as he finds himself drawn to the anybody-but-Mitt show, playing on a loop on cable "news' channels.

Beacon Roundtable

Roundtable for Feb. 2 - Missouri Primary, redistricting, a Komen controversy and fighting crime with moneyball

In this week's Beacon Roundtable, Dick Weiss, Jason Rosenbaum, Jo Mannies, Robert Joiner and Dale Singer sit down to talk about the Missouri primary and redistricting, the controversy around…
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Beacon Blog

In search of a 'social media' definition

General manager Nicole Hollway is back to the Beacon blog and she's trying to piece together what social media is and means to people.
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On chess

St. Louis: the new home of collegiate chess

Ben Finegold says recent moves by Lindenwood and Webster universities have positioned the region to be the chess capita of the United States.

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