Bernanke signals Fed to maintain stimulus efforts
Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress Wednesday that the U.S. job market remains weak and that it is too soon for the Federal Reserve to slow its extraordinary stimulus programs.
IRS operations in KC, nationwide to close Friday because of federal budget constraints
Kansas and Missouri score poorly in promoting family-friendly economic policies, study says
Regional manufacturing activity picked up slightly in May, Kansas City Fed says
Jennifer Lopez to open cellphone stores
YRC’s Welch is done talking about Arkansas Best bid
Clearwire Corp. board approves Sprint Nextel’s higher bid
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
IRS operations in KC, nationwide to close Friday because of federal budget constraints
All IRS operations will also be closed and workers will be furloughed on June 14, July 5, July 22 and Aug. 30. The agency said it may possibly announce one or two additional closing dates later this year. The closures also include staffing all IRS toll-free hotlines, the nearly 400 taxpayer assistance centers nationwide and the taxpayer advocate service.
US new home sales up 2.3 percent in April
U.S. sales of new homes rose in April and nearly matched the fastest pace in five years, driving the median price to a record high. The gains suggest the housing recovery is strengthening.
Workplace
Ford to end auto production in Australia in 2016
Ford Motor Co. said Thursday it will close its two Australian auto plants, ending production in the country in 2016, amid soaring manufacturing costs and plummeting sales.
Applications for US unemployment aid fall to 340K
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell 23,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 340,000, a level consistent with solid job growth.
Development
Venerable structure in Crossroads District is getting new tenants
Centric Projects, a commercial general construction firm, and HighTower Group, a commercial furnishing company, will move in August to the former Western Blue building at 1814 Main St.
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.
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
US rate on 30-year mortgages rises to 3.59 pct.
Average rates on fixed mortgage rose for the third straight week, hitting their highest levels since mid-March. Still, mortgage rates remained close to historic lows, a trend that should help sustain the housing recovery.
US new home sales up 2.3 percent in April
U.S. sales of new homes rose in April and nearly matched the fastest pace in five years, driving the median price to a record high. The gains suggest the housing recovery is strengthening.
