Most regional stocks close lower, led by YRC, DST, KC Southern
Stocks closed lower on news that several Federal Reserve policymakers favored cutting back on stimulus programs as early as June if the economy continues to improve.
Bernanke signals Fed to maintain stimulus efforts
Department of Labor pushes for minimum wage increase
Evian giving its water bottle a makeover
Judge: Hollister clothing unfriendly to disabled
AAA: 31.2M drivers to take Memorial Day road trip
Target's 1Q profit drops 29 pct on weak sales
Stocks
Star 40
Cerner tops Star 40; others in economic ‘sweet spots’ also doing well
It was a safe bet that Cerner Corp. would once again lead the The Star’s rankings as the region’s top-performing public company. Cerner, the nation’s second-largest company that helps hospitals and doctors’ offices convert paper files into computerized medical records, is in a sweet spot. Other top-ranked companies here do business in areas that have an edge: energy, rail transit and online government services.
Star 40: Wealth soared in 2012 for KC companies' executives
The already-hefty pay packages of many public-company executives bulged last year, thanks to higher values of their company stocks. Million-dollar base salaries – as paid to Cerner Corp. CEO Neal Patterson (pictured) and Waddell & Reed Financial CEO Hank Herrmann – are only the beginning. For most of the bigger-company CEOs, stock awards, options and “non-equity incentive” compensation dwarf their base pay.
Cityscape
The Corner Restaurant reopens in Westport with new owners, new menu
More than three years after it closed, Westport mainstay The Corner Restaurant has been resurrected in the same spot but with new owners, a new decor and new menu. Executive chef Natasha Sears said the kitchen uses many local vendors, and makes about 90 percent of the menu from scratch on-site.
Ingredient scheduled to open soon in Oak Park Mall’s food court
Oak Park Mall said it has signed local fast-casual chain Ingredient for its food court. Menu items include salads, grilled sandwiches, soups, wraps and panini, burgers, and gourmet pizzas.
Dollars & Sense
Driving during the Memorial Day weekend? You’ll have company
From Thursday through Monday, 31.2 million Americans will drive 50 miles or more to a beach, campground or other getaway, according to AAA.
Evian giving its water bottle a makeover
Evian is giving itself a facelift to keep up with its sleek, young competitors on store shelves.
Technology
Clearwire board approves Sprint’s higher bid
Clearwire Corp.’s board of directors has approved Sprint Nextel Corp.’s higher bid for the shares of its wireless partner Corp. that it doesn’t already own. The approval of a $3.40 a share bid followed the board’s previous approval of a $2.97 a share deal.
First Look: New Xbox elegant, but much unknown
Will gamers want One? After four years of development, Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One entertainment console and touted it as an all-in-one solution for playing games, watching TV and doing everything in between.
Workplace
Kansas and Missouri score poorly in promoting family-friendly economic policies, study says
The annual “Economic Security Scorecard,” compiled by the nonprofit Wider Opportunities for Women or WOW, reported that few states distinguished themselves in a wide range of policy areas that promote economic security. Most states earned grades between a C - and C+.
CEOs get a raise: Median pay rises 6.5 percent to $9.7 million
CEO pay has been going one direction for the past three years: up. The head of a typical large public company made $9.7 million in 2012, a 6.5 percent increase from a year earlier that was aided by a rising stock market. The highest paid CEO was Leslie Moonves of CBS (pictured), who made $60.3 million.
Development
Mall, office developer Copaken Brooks gets chamber’s top award
The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce recognized the real estate company as its 2013 Small Business of the Year and winner of the Mr. K Award, named after the late Ewing Kauffman, founder of Marion Laboratories and original owner of the Kansas City Royals.
Chamber names Copaken Brooks as its top business of the year
The real estate company, which was established in 1922 in downtown Kansas City, receives the Mr. K Award,. The award honors the late Ewing Kauffman, founder of Marion Laboratories and original owner of the Kansas City Royals.
Talking Business
Debate over KCI flies fast and hard
Reaction to my last column allowing that the advocates of a new single terminal at Kansas City International Airport might have a decent case was certainly bracing. Most of the more than 100 callers, emailers and kansascity.com commenters batted me roundly about. But many others allied themselves with the single-terminal advocates.
With KCI, breaking up is hard to do
After fully hashing out pros and cons, Kansas Citians may want to stick with the old flame. To carry the day, new-airport advocates will have to heavily restack the deck of arguments in their favor. That’s what’s going to be required to toss over a 40-year love affair.
National, International Business news
Fed weighed slowing its pace of bond purchases
Several Federal Reserve policymakers this month favored slowing the Fed's efforts to maintain record-low long-term interest rates as early as June - if the economy showed strong and sustained growth. But those officials appeared at odds over what evidence would demonstrate such gains.
US home sales tick up to highest in 3 1/2 years
Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes ticked up last month to the highest level in three and a half years, helped by a jump in the number of houses for sale.
