The credit crunch has put some of Ameren’s construction projects on hold, but another major St. Louis company says it hasn’t had any trouble getting financing. During Emerson’s earnings conference call yesterday, investor relations director Lynne Maxeiner stressed that liquidity remains “strong and flexible.” According to an unofficial transcript provided by Bloomberg, Maxeiner said:

We have had continuous access to the commercial paper markets, high short-term credit rating (A1/P1) and we’ve been able to place paper with 30-day duration or longer at normal Emerson rate. We have a $2.8 billion backup
credit line which expires April 2011 that has never been drawn against. At the bottom of the page you’ll see we have strong operating cash flow to debt
ratio. Our cash position is in excess of our short-term debt and we have a nice debt ladder going out several years. 

Page 8 of Emerson’s investor slideshow has a graphic depiction of the company’s cash and debt situation.