Missouri has a very diversified economy. It has a large service sector, wholesale, retail, manufacturing and agricultural. It is a top producer of automobiles, beer and aerospace technology. Some lesser known facts about Missouri follow:1. Missouri’s top commodities are soybeans, cattle and calves and corn.2. 14,842 new businesses settled in Missouri during 2007.3. Top manufacturing industries in the state are: transportation equipment, food products, and fabricated metals.4. The manufacturing industry employs 13% of the work force.5. Missouri exports chemicals, machinery and food products to South Korea, China and Japan.6. The High-tech industry of Missouri employs 4% of the work force.7. Missouri offers over $306 million in incentives for biofuel energy development, along with tax credits.8. Forest products contribute $1.69 billion to the economy.9. Top industries depending on exports are the aircraft manufacturing, and the wholesale ...

After a day of dueling lawsuits yesterday (Monday), all parties agreed to halt litigation for two days as Citigroup Inc. (C) and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) continued to squabble over rights to purchase Wachovia Corp. (WB).

After a day of dueling lawsuits yesterday (Monday), all parties agreed to halt litigation for two days as Citigroup Inc. (C) and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) continued to squabble over rights to purchase Wachovia Corp. (WB). The three banks jointly pledged to “cooperate in good faith to agree among themselves to secure orders where necessary in all applicable cases in all jurisdictions,” according to a statement from Wachovia. The agreement was reached after consultations with the U.S. Federal Reserve, Bloomberg News reported. The “litigation standstill” will be in effect until noon EDT tomorrow (Wednesday). Earlier in the day, Citigroup had filed suit against Wells Fargo and Wachovia for $60 billion in damages for breaching the exclusive negotiation period Wachovia had agreed to as part of Citigroup’s original offer for Wachovia’s retail banking operations. It was the culmination of a ...

by Edward Hugh: BarcelonaThe euro fell against the dollar yesterday - by the largest amount registered in any single day since the introduction of the single currency in 1999. The drop was effectively a response to the growing signs of strain in Europe's banking sector. Activity in support of banks was widespread throught the day, and across the whole system. The euro fell 2.5 percent to $1.4077 by mid morning in New York, down from $1.4434 on Monday. Early this morning in Europe it was trading in the $1.41 range.This current pressure on the euro is more the result of signs of liquidity problems in the banking sector than it is a response to the growing weaknesses in the eurozone real economies, which, as we saw at the end of last week, are really pretty substantial in their own right. What follows is simply ...

Financial News at Sibos September 16, 2008A series of setbacks has raised questions over whether Moscow could rival other centres and whether the rouble could become a reserve currency, writes Jason Corcoran The credibility of Moscow's ambition of becoming a global financial centre within five years has been called into question following a summer of systemic shocks to investor confidence and the arrested development of its market institutions.Highly liquid domestic markets, strong economic growth and a position at the heart of a booming region have contributed to the rapid growth of Russia's capital markets over the past decade.The dual government of President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have a blueprint in place for building Moscow's position as a financial hub. Some institutions, especially the Federal Anti-Monopoly (FAS) commission, have grown in stature due to its recent ...

Wealth Bulletin 27 June 2008 - By Jason CorcoranRussian billionaire George Piskov and his partners have sold a 80% stake in Uniastrum Bank for $576mn (€371m) to the Bank of Cyprus.Piskov (pictured below), an aviation engineer- turned businessmen, set up the Uniastrum in 1994 with two friends Uniastrum president Gagik Zakaryan and Oleg Belousov.The fast growing bank, which now 220 branches across Russia, has focused on retail banking to Russia SMEs and the money transfers business. It has also branched out into the international wealth management business and set up Uniastrum Capital in London in 2001.The owners decided to split its money transfer business Unistream off after the volumes jumped from $260m in 2004 to $750m in 2005. It was sold to Aurora Russia, a private equity firm, last yearThe bank made the headlines in January ...