Business and Finance news

Spanish and German government bonds are signaling the respite in the euro-region

Aegion Corp. said Thursday that a subsidiary, United Pipeline Systems, had entered a joint venture with Special Technical Services LLC to provide pipeline-lining services in the Middle East.
United Pipeline owns 51 percent of the joint venture, Aegion said. The venture, established in Oman, will provide pipeline, piping and flow line high-density polyethylene lining services in […]

Hedge funds reduced bullish bets on commodities for a second consecutive week as the Federal Reserve signaled it may refrain from more monetary stimulus, increasing concern that growth will slow and curb demand for raw materials.
Money managers lowered net-long positions across 18 U.S. futures and options by 2.8 percent to 1.1 million contracts in […]

You find the home of your dreams. You’re pre-approved for a mortgage. You’ve scheduled the closing. Then … the appraisal comes in too low and the deal blows up.
Even as some mortgage standards have eased, hitting a needed appraisal value is proving a frustrating blocker for buyers and sellers and those looking to […]

O’Fallon, Mo. • This time last year, O’Fallon Brewery was fading out of sight.
After growing for most of a decade, St. Louis’ second-largest craft brewer hit a wall. Its co-founders ran out of cash. Beer-making ground to a halt. Six-packs on store shelves dwindled.
But now O’Fallon is on pace to sell more in 2012 than […]

VANCOUVER

Every Tuesday morning, Teri Dobbins-Baxter starts her commute at 4 a.m.
She leaves home in the south suburbs of Chicago and goes to Midway Airport, where she hops a flight to St. Louis. Then she makes her way to Midtown, where she works as a law professor at St. Louis University. She then spend two days […]

Premier Wen Jiabao warned Wednesday that ruinous turmoil that engulfed China in the past could re-emerge unless the country tackles political reforms, and he rebuked a populist fellow leader over a scandal that brought infighting among officials into public view.
In a three-hour news conference, his sole such event of the year, Wen renewed a call […]

Officials from St. Louis and St. Charles counties are pushing for changes in state law that would give more control to voters and less to municipalities over the issuance of lucrative tax increment financing benefits.
Bills pending in Jefferson City could curtail city council authority to pass TIF plans for Walmarts and other projects by giving […]

German factory orders unexpectedly declined in January as foreign demand for investment goods such as machinery slumped.
Orders (GRIORTMM), adjusted for seasonal swings and inflation, fell 2.7 percent from December, when they gained 1.6 percent, the Economy Ministry in Berlin said today. Economists forecast a 0.6 percent increase, according to the median of 37 estimates […]