St Louis Post-Dispatch (MO) articles from April 2001

St Louis Post-Dispatch (MO) archives from April 2001

St. Louis Leaders Want to Put More Emphasis on Biotechnology, Science Firms.
April 29, 2001... Byline: Virginia Baldwin Gilbert Apr. 29--Civic leaders are hoping to direct the developer's mantra -- "If you build it, they will come" -- toward the development of laboratories and other buildings for scientific pursuits. The aim...

St. Louis-Area Architects, Engineers Collaborate to Produce Better Projects.
April 29, 2001... Byline: John Curley Apr. 29--Every other Monday, Bob Brinkmann teaches a class on construction engineering. Dressed in gray slacks, a white shirt and a conservative tie, he looks like he just stepped out of a university lecture hall. His...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Your Money Column.
April 29, 2001... Byline: Jim Gallagher Apr. 29--Margaret Dickens' bills had become a bit much. She had a 7.5 percent mortgage on her house in University City, plus a couple of high-interest loans. She was paying about $1,500 a month to keep them all...

St. Louis Developers Build Science Labs in Hope of Becoming `BioBelt'.
April 29, 2001... Byline: Virginia Baldwin Gilbert Apr. 29--Civic leaders are hoping to direct the developer's mantra -- "If you build it, they will come" -- toward the development of laboratories and other buildings for scientific pursuits. The aim...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch At-Work Column.
April 29, 2001... Apr. 29--NAME: Mark Deutsch. AGE: 40. JOB: Deutsch teaches music privately. The instruments he offers instruction in include the bass, guitar, sitar, and cello. He also teaches his students music performance and theory. He has been a...

American Airlines Aims to Keep TWA Slots at Washington Reagan Airport.
April 28, 2001... Byline: Cynthia Wilson Apr. 28--American Airlines is fighting to hold onto coveted takeoff and landing slots at Washington's Reagan National Airport that the old Trans World Airlines won last summer. The slots, which TWA uses to...

Anheuser-Busch Comes to Terms with Teamsters Union.
April 28, 2001... Byline: Thomas Lee Apr. 28--Anheuser-Busch Cos. and the international Teamsters union completed a contract Thursday, ending a three-year labor dispute between the St. Louis-based beer maker and the 7,000 Teamsters who work at the...

Illinois Gaming Board Shuts Down Some Slot Machines to Fix Problem.
April 28, 2001... Byline: Virginia Young Apr. 28--The Illinois Gaming Board shut down about 14 percent of the slot machines in the state's casinos late Thursday to fix a problem that left them vulnerable to cheating. But the Alton Belle Casino, for...

St. Louis-Based Genetics Firm Reports Full Mapping of Mouse Genome.
April 28, 2001... Byline: Tina Hesman Apr. 28--Scientists at Celera Genomics Group said Friday they have fully assembled the mouse genome. The feat gives the company a two-year lead over competitors in the publicly funded Mouse Genome Sequence Project....

Long-Time St. Louis Investment Broker Keeps Cool Head in Bad Times.
April 28, 2001... Byline: David Nicklaus Apr. 28--Peter Schick could hardly have gotten into the investment business at a worse time. In his first two years, 1973 and 1974, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 40 percent of its value. It took eight more...

Workers at Canadian Commercial Printing Plant in Salem, Ill., Await Job News.
April 28, 2001... Byline: Shera Dalin Apr. 28--The nearly 900 workers at Quebecor World Inc.'s plant in Salem, Ill., may find out Wednesday if they are getting pink slips from Marion County's second-biggest employer. The 880 employees were notified on...

Wireless Telecom to Change Fee Structure in St. Louis.
April 28, 2001... Apr. 28--Charter Communications Inc. is adjusting fees and the speed of some cable-modem services in the St. Louis area. On June 1, the company plans to raise the monthly fees for its entry-level Internet service to $29.95 per month from...

CEO of St. Louis-Based Coal Firm Offers Positive Economic Outlook.
April 27, 2001... Byline: Repps Hudson Apr. 27--Steven F. Leer, chief executive officer of Arch Coal Inc., looks at the uncertain prices of natural gas and oil, the nearly maxed-out potential of the nation's nuclear reactors, the limitations of solar and...

Brothers Plead Guilty to Mail Fraud after Blowing Investor Funds.
April 27, 2001... Byline: Jim Gallagher Apr. 27--Matthew Trainer and his brother Jason pleaded guilty to mail fraud Thursday in federal court in St. Louis, after blowing nearly $2 million in investors' money in high-risk stock trading and high-rolling...

Three St. Louis-Based Firms Make List of Stereotype-Defying Companies.
April 27, 2001... Byline: David Nicklaus Apr. 27--A Boston group has identified 100 inner-city companies that defy stereotypes. They're fast-growing, and they prefer to stay put rather than flee to the suburbs. The group, Initiative for a Competitive...

St. Louis-Area Jobless Rate Drops.
April 27, 2001... Byline: Jim Gallagher Apr. 27--Recession? Phooey. The unemployment rate in St. Louis actually dropped last month, to 3.8 percent from 4.2 percent in February. Much of the drop was seasonal, said Bill Niblack, who heads...

Accounting Firm Says it Doubts Olivette, Mo.-Based Technology Company.
April 27, 2001... Byline: Peter Shinkle Apr. 27--The former accounting firm for Ultradata Systems Inc. says it had doubts about the company's ability to continue as a going concern. The firm, BDO Seidman LLP, resigned April 6 as Ultradata's...

Anheuser-Busch Holds Shareholders Meeting in Orlando, Fla.
April 26, 2001... Byline: Thomas Lee Apr. 26--ORLANDO, Fla.--In Australia, horses sometimes drink beer. That piece of trivia, courtesy of an Aussie shareholder, was perhaps the most surprising revelation to come out of Anheuser-Busch's Cos. annual...

Advocacy Group, Florissant, Mo., Reach Agreement in Housing Lawsuit.
April 26, 2001... Byline: Norm Parish Apr. 26--A fair-housing advocacy group and the city of Florissant have reached an agreement that ended a 3-year-old lawsuit against Gordon A. Gundaker Real Estate Co. for allegedly steering African-Americans to homes...

North Carolina-Based Restaurant Chain To Relocate Headquarters To St. Louis.
April 26, 2001... Byline: Chern Yeh Kwok Apr. 26--Andrew Puzder stepped out of the elevator on the 36th floor of the Firstar Building in downtown St. Louis and entered an office that's mostly bare. Furniture is stacked in corners, and meeting rooms...

Bids Continue for New York-Based Technology Firm.
April 26, 2001... Byline: Peter Shinkle Apr. 26--Bidding for Bridge Information Systems Inc. continued Wednesday, even as some creditors told a bankruptcy judge in St. Louis they worried that parts of the company's worldwide financial network will...

Missouri Tax-Credit Lottery Benefits `Distressed Communities'.
April 25, 2001... Byline: Virginia Young Apr. 25--JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.--Each year, the Missouri Department of Economic Development holds a lottery, but those in the drawing aren't bidding for a trip to Luckytown. The winners get income-tax credits, which...

Upstart Professional Football League Expected to Disband Soon.
April 25, 2001... Byline: Dan Caesar Apr. 25--The XFL, which plunged into the sports arena with unparalleled fanfare and Day 1 success, closed its initial season with a whimper. And in so doing it seems destined to fall off the NBC programming...

Small Firms Maintain St. Louis-Area Savings-and-Loans Industry.
April 25, 2001... Byline: David Nicklaus Apr. 25--William Donius seems an unlikely steward for one of the last remnants of the old savings and loan industry here. To be sure, he's a grandson of one of the Polish immigrants who founded Pulaski Bank in...

Contractor Puts Lien on Town and Country, Mo., Telecom Company Building.
April 25, 2001... Byline: Peter Shinkle Apr. 25--A St. Louis contractor has placed a $440,384 lien on a WorldCom Inc. building in Town & Country, saying it wasn't paid for work ordered by a failed Internet startup. The contractor, C. Rallo Contracting...

Shareholders of St. Louis-Based Utility Company Address Executive Pay.
April 25, 2001... Byline: Repps Hudson Apr. 25--The only time shareholders showed any emotion at Ameren Corp.'s annual meeting Tuesday was when several people took the microphone to compare their dividends to the pay and bonuses of the officers and...

Union Reaches Agreement with Anheuser-Busch in Labor Dispute.
April 24, 2001... Byline: Gargi Chakrabarty Apr. 24--The Teamsters Union has reached a tentative agreement with Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. on issues that have prevented the signing of a final labor contract. The head of the Teamsters' brewery division,...

St. Louis-Area Development Agency to Increase River Cruises, Package Deals.
April 24, 2001... Byline: Chern Yeh Kwok Apr. 24--Through its agreement to purchase the Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher riverboats, the Bi-State Development Agency is expecting to increase the variety of cruises and offer package deals with activities...

St. Louis-Based Animal Feed Maker Anticipates Merger with Agricultural Giant.
April 21, 2001... Apr. 21--Agribrands International, Inc., the St. Louis-based animal feed maker, said Friday, that it expects to close its $580 million merger with Minnesota-based Cargill April 30 after receiving a favorable tax ruling from the Internal...

St. Louis Casino Company's Subsidiary Files for Bankruptcy.
April 21, 2001... Apr. 21--St. Louis-based President Casinos Inc. announced Thursday that a subsidiary in Mississippi had filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy law. Under the filing, a court will oversee the finances of...

Author Presents the Falling Market as an Opportunity at St. Louis Appearance.
April 21, 2001... Byline: David Nicklaus Apr. 21--You've just published a book about "how 10 skirts beat the pants off Wall Street," but your Web site says your stocks are down much more than the overall market. What do you do? If you're Karin Housley...

American Airlines Decision on Trans World Airlines Worker Perks Angers Some.
April 20, 2001... Byline: Cynthia Wilson Apr. 20--American Airlines will honor the travel passes of Trans World Airlines workers who retired from the bankrupt St. Louis-based carrier. But it has ended the benefit to employees who left the old TWA through...

General Motors Asks Wentzville, Mo., To Reduce Firm's Property Tax Burden.
April 20, 2001... Byline: Tommy Robertson Apr. 20--General Motors Corp. is asking the City of Wentzville to help reduce GM's property tax burden by issuing taxable industrial revenue bonds that the company will use to finance part of a $150 million...

St. Louis Hotel Gets $20 Million Makeover.
April 20, 2001... Byline: Charlene Prost Apr. 20--What's been known as the Regal Riverfront Hotel in downtown St. Louis is getting a $20 million makeover and emerging as two hotels within the same two-tower complex. Keith Gundlefinger, the hotel's...

St. Louis-Based Publisher Reports Decrease in Profits.
April 20, 2001... Apr. 20--Pulitzer Inc. said its first-quarter profit fell sharply because of a slump in advertising demand and an increase in newsprint costs. Pulitzer, which owns the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Suburban Journals, STLtoday.com and...

New Jersey-Based Water Company Opens New Facility in St. Louis.
April 20, 2001... Byline: Trisha L. Howard Apr. 20--American Water Works Co. Inc. celebrated the opening of its new, national customer service center Thursday at the Alton Center Business Park. The center will start taking calls at 7 a.m. Saturday...

Major U.S. Carmakers Wage Discount Battle as Domestic Market Share Slips.
April 19, 2001... Byline: Gargi Chakrabarty Apr. 19--A discount battle is being fought by the three major U.S. carmakers as they continue to lose domestic market share. A Chrysler Concorde commands a $1,000 rebate, while a Jeep Cherokee gets a $2,000...

Small, Rural Hospital in Red Bud, Ill., Put Up for Sale.
April 19, 2001... Byline: Judith VandeWater Apr. 19--St. Clement Health Services, a small rural hospital and long-term care facility in Red Bud, is for sale. The Sisters of Mercy Health System St. Louis and the Adorers of the Blood of Christ, the...

Machinists Union Says It Wants Contract with St. Louis-Based Boeing Group.
April 18, 2001... Byline: Cynthia Wilson Apr. 18--On the eve of the start of the Machinists union's formal contract negotiations with the Boeing Co.'s St. Louis-based military aircraft group, the union's leadership made it clear they have but one goal--to...

Missouri Task Force to Study Natural Gas Prices, to Hold Public Meeting.
April 18, 2001... Byline: Repps Hudson Apr. 18--With plenty of time before cold weather hits next winter, a Missouri-wide task force set up to study how natural gas prices are pegged for consumers will hold a public meeting here May 4. "We'll give an...

Some Growth Expected in St. Louis in Office, Industrial, Retail Markets.
April 18, 2001... Byline: Charlene Prost Apr. 18--Even with the national economy slowing and the real estate boom leveling off, some growth is expected this year in the office, industrial and retail markets in the St. Louis metropolitan area. That was...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch David Nicklaus Column.
April 18, 2001... Byline: David Nicklaus Apr. 18--Whispers are out. Webcasts are in. And, despite some griping from Wall Street analysts, the 6-month-old Regulation FD (for "fair disclosure") has succeeded in putting individual investors on a level...

Some TWA Workers Must Wait Weeks to Learn of Future with American Airlines.
April 18, 2001... Byline: Cynthia Wilson Apr. 18--It will be several weeks before 2,000 management and nonunion workers at TWA Airlines LLC begin to learn more about their future with American Airlines. Like the union workers of the old TWA, nonunion...

Boeing Advances in Bid for Joint Strike Fighter Contract.
April 17, 2001... Byline: Philip Dine Apr. 17--WASHINGTON, D.C.--Boeing's bid to win the Joint Strike Fighter contract has crossed a major hurdle, with the first successful in-flight conversion to a system that allows the plane to make short takeoffs and...

Developers Move Forward with Renovation of St. Louis Building.
April 17, 2001... Byline: Charlene Prost Apr. 17--After two decades of planning and failed attempts by several groups to revive the long-vacant, 22-story Continental Building in midtown, developer Stephen Trampe and his associates are finally moving...

Nasdaq Halts Trading of Olivette, Mo.-Based Electronic Device Maker.
April 17, 2001... Byline: Peter Shinkle Apr. 17--The Nasdaq Stock Market halted trading of Ultradata Systems Inc. stock Monday after the company revealed that its former accountants believed Ultradata's chief executive attempted to mislead a customer. ...

Engineering, Construction Companies Fare Well in Stock Market.
April 16, 2001... Byline: David Nicklaus Apr. 14--Even in the worst stock market slumps, some people make money. Lately, the folks you see smiling are the ones who invested in big engineering and construction firms. Shares of Jacobs Engineering Group...

Executives Step Down at Olivette, Mo.-Based Handheld Device Maker.
April 14, 2001... Byline: Peter Shinkle Apr. 14--Ultradata Systems Inc., which has seen its stock price languish over the past year, said Friday founder Monte Ross has given up some duties and its accountants have resigned. Ross has stepped down as...

Multiple Bidders Seek Assets of New York-Based Information Technology Firm.
April 14, 2001... Byline: Peter Shinkle Apr. 14--Bridge Information Systems Inc. said Friday that Dow Jones & Co. and Goldman Sachs & Co. are among a bevy of companies who have bid -- or may bid -- for Bridge's assets in bankruptcy. Yet documents...

British Firm Seeks Stake in Creve Coeur, Mo.-Based Internet Service Provider.
April 13, 2001... Byline: Peter Shinkle Apr. 13--Reuters Group PLC said Thursday it is seeking an option to buy a large stake in Savvis Communications Corp., the financially ailing Internet service provider based in Creve Coeur. London-based Reuters...

New York-Based Investment Firm Buys Clayton, Mo.-Based Oil Refining Company.
April 13, 2001... Byline: Repps Hudson Apr. 13--In 1997, The Blackstone Group, a private investment firm in New York, bought an 81 percent stake in Clark USA Inc. and began remaking the Clayton-based oil refining and marketing company. A couple of...

St. Louis-Based Department Store Firm Buys 13 Former Montgomery Wards Stores.
April 13, 2001... Byline: Chern Yeh Kwok Apr. 13--May Department Stores Co. has completed the purchase of 13 former Montgomery Wards stores, saying that it will open seven new stores while operating four others as expansions of existing stores. Plans were...

St. Louis Tech Firm Continues Growth.
April 13, 2001... Byline: Virginia Baldwin Gilbert Apr. 13--Before high-tech startups became the darlings of local business incubators and venture capital funds, BECS Technology Inc. transformed its engineering consulting business into a manufacturing...

Alton, Mo.-Based Gaming Company May Purchase Chicago-Area Riverboat Casino.
April 12, 2001... Byline: Christopher Carey Apr. 12--Argosy Gaming Co. could be nearing a deal to buy one of the biggest riverboat casinos in the Chicago area. Argosy is said to have offered at least $450 million for the Empress casino in Joliet,...

British Company Bids for Creve Coeur, Mo.-Based Financial News Provider.
April 12, 2001... Byline: Peter Shinkle Apr. 12--Reuters Group PLC, which recently turned up its nose at the idea of acquiring Bridge Information Systems Inc., is among the companies to put in bids for Bridge's assets in bankruptcy court. Reuters, a...

Developers Consider Renovation of St. Louis Multi-Use Complex.
April 12, 2001... Byline: Charlene Prost Apr. 12--A subsidiary of Kimberly-Clark Corp., maker of Kleenex and Huggies, is working with Pyramid Construction Co. on the possibility of renovating the empty Arcade/Wright complex downtown with retail and...

St. Louis-Area Resort Owner Cancels Expansion Plans.
April 12, 2001... Byline: Jeremy Kohler Apr. 12--The owner of Timber Creek Resort in southern Jefferson County, the only time-share vacation spot in the St. Louis area, is running out of cash and has called off an expansion of the resort. Timber...

St. Louis Office Building Merits a Massive Renovation.
April 11, 2001... Byline: Charlene Prost Apr. 11--The 500 Broadway Building, one of the few purely speculative office buildings constructed downtown in modern times, is getting a facelift that could end up costing $10 million or more. Connecticut...

Boeing Prepares to Submit Bid for Lucrative Defense Contract.
April 10, 2001... Byline: Philip Dine Apr. 10--WASHINGTON, D.C.--Boeing's bid for the most lucrative defense contract in history will be on budget and most likely below government targets for cost, boosting its prospects of being selected, the company...

Wireless Internet Service Provider Closes Clayton, Mo., Headquarters.
April 10, 2001... Byline: Peter Shinkle Apr. 10--WorkNet Communications Inc., a provider of wireless Internet service that has had financial difficulties, is shutting its Clayton headquarters and laying off about 47 employees. The layoffs will take...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Executive Focus Column.
April 9, 2001... Byline: John Curley Apr. 7--Few names are as well known in St. Louis as Gundaker. Since 1968, when Gordon Gundaker and his wife opened a small real estate agency on St. Charles Rock Road, the name has appeared on hundreds of...

As Demand Grows, Insufficient Electric Lines Could Choke Off Power in Midwest.
April 9, 2001... Byline: Repps Hudson Apr. 7--Energy insiders are talking a lot among themselves this spring about the coming power squeeze caused by overloaded electric transmission lines. Those are the big lines on tall towers that run from power...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Your Money Column.
April 9, 2001... Byline: Jim Gallagher Apr. 7--TRADER FRETS OVER INFLATION MONSTER AROUND THE CORNER: A bond trader is like a mortician. Really bad news for you is usually good news for him. It's money in the bank. These days, the stock market is in...

St. Louis Shoe Maker among Retailers Using Technology to Streamline Operations.
April 9, 2001... Byline: Chern Yeh Kwok Apr. 7--For several years, bringing a shoe from manufacturing to retail at Brown Shoe Co. meant a flurry of e-mails and faxes. That started changing in February 1999. At an in-house meeting at Brown's Clayton...

Communications Firm Touts St. Louis, despite Technology Industry's Bumpy Road.
April 9, 2001... Byline: Peter Shinkle Apr. 7--St. Louis's technology industry has taken its lumps in recent months, with Internet startups collapsing and a major telecommunications company announcing layoffs. But such things don't disturb Matthew...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch At-Work Column.
April 9, 2001... Byline: Elizabeth Freeman Apr. 7--BRUSSELS FERRY OPERATOR IS A MASTER OF MANY TRADES Name: Lonnie Haug. Age: 49. Job: Ferry operator for the Brussels Ferry in Calhoun County, operated by the Illinois Department of...

St. Louis-Area Investment Experts Offer Stock Picks for Bear Market.
April 7, 2001... Byline: David Nicklaus Apr. 7--Look for "tech lite," Gerry Sparrow says. Keep buying in small amounts through a dollar-cost averaging plan, Joe Chapin says. That's how the two are coping with a vicious bear market in what had been...

Bank Executive Resigns As President of St. Louis Minority Business Council.
April 7, 2001... Byline: David Nicklaus Apr. 7--Eddie G. Davis, one of the area's most prominent advocates for minority-owned companies, has resigned as president of the St. Louis Minority Business Council. Davis left in early to mid-March, said...

Mortgage Holder of St. Louis Office Building Takes Over Property.
April 7, 2001... Byline: Chern Yeh Kwok Apr. 7--The mortgage holder of the One City Centre office building downtown has taken over the property, after agreeing to pay $18 million in a public auction on Friday. Teachers Insurance and Annuity...

New Creve Coeur, Mo.-Based Company Challenges Structure of the Internet.
April 6, 2001... Byline: Peter Shinkle Apr. 6--After more than a year of building and testing its nationwide fiber-optic network, CoreExpress Inc. said Thursday it is open and ready to provide high-speed Internet service to businesses. The company,...

St. Louis Animal Feed Company Loses Money in California Utility Investment.
April 6, 2001... Byline: Thomas Lee Apr. 6--Talk about bad timing. Agribrands International Inc., a St. Louis-based maker of animal feed, purchased a $6 million commercial note in Pacific Gas & Electric in mid December just as the California-based...

Highland, Ill.-Based Firm Begins Production of Small Motors Line.
April 5, 2001... Byline: Shera Dalin Apr. 5--Jakel Manufacturing Inc. of Highland began building a line of small motors this week at a new plant along the Texas border in Mexico. Jakel bought the equipment and manufacturing rights for the...

St. Louis-Based Natural Gas Firm Proposes Rate Cut.
April 5, 2001... Byline: Repps Hudson Apr. 5--Laclede Gas Co. filed its proposed summer rates Wednesday, which would mean a cut of $22 a month for the typical St. Louis area residential customer. If approved by the Missouri Public Service Commission,...

Real Estate Investor Negotiates To Buy St. Louis Shopping Mall.
April 5, 2001... Byline: Charlene Prost Apr. 5--A North Carolina real estate investor who bought the nearly empty River Roads shopping mall in Jennings more than a year ago is close to buying the financially troubled St. Louis Centre shopping mall...

New York-Based Tech Firm Wins Approval for Financial Incentives.
April 5, 2001... Byline: Peter Shinkle Apr. 5--Wrestling with the uncertainty of bankruptcy, Bridge Information Systems Inc. won court approval Wednesday to pay up to $11.5 million in financial incentives to keep four top executives and other key...

Laser Eye Surgery Chain Lays Off All of Its Staff.
April 4, 2001... Byline: Judith Vandewater Apr. 4--Financially exhausted Lasik Vision Corp., a deep discounting laser eye surgery chain, has laid off all staff at its 30 clinics in Canada and the United States -- including its office in Clayton --...

Clayton, Mo.-Based Fiber Optic Company Names a New President.
April 4, 2001... Byline: Peter Shinkle Apr. 4--With a change in control behind it, Digital Teleport Inc. of Clayton has named a new president and announced an aggressive plan to find new customers for its fiber-optic network. Paul Pierron, 48, has...

St. Louis Retail Outlet Offers Impact-Resistant Glass.
April 4, 2001... Byline: Chern Yeh Kwok Apr. 4--Solutia Inc. has opened a retail store in Sappington to sell its impact-resistant glass to homeowners. The store represents the first time that the company is senling directly to consumers. The store,...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch David Nicklaus Column.
April 4, 2001... Byline: David Nicklaus Apr. 4--Mixing economics and romance is a little like mixing asparagus and ice cream. Each has its fans, but even if you ask for a serving of each, you probably wouldn't put them in the same bowl. Russell...

Clayton, Mo.-Based Plastics Company Guards Against Hostile Takeover.
April 4, 2001... Byline: Christopher Carey Apr. 4--Spartech Corp., whose stock has skidded 54 percent in a year, said Tuesday it has approved a shareholder rights plan to guard against an unwanted takeover. "The adoption of the plan is not in...

Report Gives Airlines Low Grades for Performance.
April 3, 2001... Apr. 3--WASHINGTON--The nation's airlines scored poorly in a report released Monday, with such key criteria as on-time performance, mishandling of luggage and consumer complaints all declining. Seven of the 10 major U.S. airlines dropped...

St. Louis-Based Battery Maker Struggles to Update Operations.
April 3, 2001... Byline: Thomas Lee Apr. 3--It would be difficult, if not impossible, to exclude the pink bunny from any discussion about Energizer Holdings Inc., the St. Louis-based battery maker that was spun off from Ralston Purina a year ago today....

Mergers Reduce Number of St. Louis Firms in Fortune 500 List.
April 3, 2001... Byline: David Nicklaus Apr. 3--Mergers thinned St. Louis' presence in the Fortune 500 list to nine companies this year, down from 11 last year. Fortune magazine's annual list, considered the authoritative ranking of the nation's...

Mentor, Ohio-Based Manufacturer To Combine St. Louis-Area Plants.
April 3, 2001... Byline: Repps Hudson Apr. 3--After Steris Corp. bought two production plants from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. a couple of years ago, officials began talking about how they would change operations in the St. Louis area to make the plants...