Business and Finance news

Citibank won approval to issue its own credit card in China, making it the first non-Asian bank to enter that market.
The approval from Chinese banking authorities was announced by the bank’s parent, Citigroup (, Fortune 500), Monday. The card is expected to be issued sometime later this year.

"This approval represents a significant milestone in […]

Fewer Americans filed claims for unemployment insurance payments last week, showing the labor market is starting 2012 on better footing than a year earlier.
Applications for jobless benefits (INJCJC) decreased 15,000 in the week ended Dec. 31 to 372,000, Labor Department figures showed today. The median estimate of 38 economists in a Bloomberg News survey […]

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By year’s end, the St. Louis area’s biggest business group will have a new leader. Now a growing number of people are saying it may be time for a whole new direction.
St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay is adding his voice to those calling for big changes at the Regional Chamber and Growth Association, where longtime […]

A former board member of Olympus Corp. said Friday that he launched an online petition to persuade the Japanese company to bring back Michael Woodford, the British executive fired for questioning payments made to cover up huge investment losses.
Koji Miyata, who served on Olympus’ board from 1995 to 2006, told The Associated Press that he […]

TORONTO — Paying with plastic takes on a new meaning today as the Bank of Canada rolls out new $100 bills to replace the cotton-paper blend note.
The $100 is Canada’s first polymer bank note and features a wealth of anti-counterfeiting features such as partially-hidden numbers.
The bill also includes a large, transparent window, transparent text, a […]

Some of the latest developments in the Occupy protests:
GEORGIA
Police arrested 20 people after an Occupy Atlanta protest rally in a city park spilled onto the streets and officers converged on them on motorcycles, riding horseback and in riot gear.
A crowd of several hundred protesters had gathered at Woodruff Park, the scene of about 50 arrests […]

Asian markets were mostly lower in early trading Monday, as investors shifted their focus from Europe to the U.S. economy.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.5 percent to 9,096.27. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.4 percent to 19,938.46, while South Korea’s Kospi was 0.4 percent lower at 1,921.78. Benchmarks in Australia and Singapore also fell, while […]

The Commerce Trust Co. has tapped David Krauss of The Stolar Partnership to oversee the bank’s wealth management services for ultra high-net worth individuals and families.
Krauss currently is a partner at The Stolar Partnership in downtown St. Louis and heads the law firm’s Stolar Family Office business unit, which provides investment oversight for high-net worth individuals.
Krauss will join Commerce in December as managing director of The […]

U.S. stock futures are mixed after European leaders said they made progress on resolving the region’s debt problems at a weekend summit but delayed offering any details.
European leaders say they will unveil plans to help resolve the crisis by Wednesday. Worries about Europe’s debt problems have helped drag global stocks up and down over the […]