Mound City Money

Caterpillar settles lawsuit over 401k fees

David Nicklaus — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:37:57 +0000

Caterpillar has agreed to pay $16.5 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that its 401k plans charged excessive fees to employees. Cat’s news release says the money, minus attorneys’ fees and costs, will go into the accounts of employees and former…

New firms create two-thirds of new U.S. jobs

David Nicklaus — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:14:29 +0000

We’ve written recently about St. Louis’ lack of small-business job growth, and today a new Kauffman Foundation study reminds us why this issue is so important. Analyzing U.S. Census data for 2007, Kauffman says that two-thirds of all net job creation…

Washington U reports 92% placement rate for MBA grads

David Nicklaus — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:44:53 +0000

A few years ago, an MBA degree seemed like an instant ticket to riches. The typical graduating MBA would deluged with job offers, complete with signing bonuses and other nice perks. That, however, was before the Wall Street meltdown. Now,…

Banks bear most costs of bank rescues, Kemper says

David Nicklaus — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:02:59 +0000

St. Louis banker David Kemper doesn’t like some of the rhetoric he’s hearing about bank bailouts. In particular, he said this morning in a speech at Washington University’s Olin School of Business, he doeesn’t like the fact that banks have…

MEMC takeover rumor pops up again

David Nicklaus — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:49:55 +0000

Bloomberg, picking up on heavy options trading, reports that takeover rumors are once again swirling around MEMC Electronic Materials. The story notes that current-month call options, giving investors the right to buy MEMC shares for $13 on or before Nov. 20,…

NuVox is sold, writing last chapter for company founded in St. Louis

David Nicklaus — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:49:14 +0000

NuVox Inc., the last telecommunications company founded by prolific St. Louis entrepreneur Robert Brooks, agreed today to sell itself to Windstream Corp. of Little Rock, Ark. The purchase price is $643 million in cash, stock and assumed debt.

NuVox is what’s…

Missouri, Illinois slip in business-climate ranking

David Nicklaus — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:14:52 +0000

Illinois and Missouri both lost ground this year in Site Selection magazine’s influential business climate ranking. The magazine’s latest league table, based partly on a survey of executives and partly on actual plant-location decisions, has Illinois No. 14 and Missouri No.…

More evidence of St. Louis’ small-business shortcomings

David Nicklaus — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:41:01 +0000

As I mentioned in Sunday’s column, St. Louis University economist Jack Strauss thinks the lack of an entrepreneurial culture is a big reason why St. Louis has a tortoise-like economy. At a conference Thursday sponsored by SLU’s Simon Center for Regional…

Study says Amtrak loses $32 per passenger

David Nicklaus — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:22:47 +0000

SubsidyScope, a government-tracking effort of the Pew Charitable Trusts, has trained its lens on Amtrak, and it says the railroad is losing a lot more money than it admits. After adding in depreciation and overhead, which an airline or any other…

Crisis didn’t scare workers away from 401k plans, Schwab finds

David Nicklaus — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:36:21 +0000

Last year’s financial crisis didn’t scare workers away from their 401k plans, new data from Charles Schwab show. In retirement plans managed by Schwab, 77 percent of eligible workers participated at the end of 2008, up from 73 percent a year…