Business memo 07/07/03

St. Louis near bottom of performance index

According to the St. Louis Business Journal, St. Louis ranks near the bottom of the Milken Institute's Best Performing Cities index. Out of 200 U.S. metropolitan areas, Milken ranked St. Louis No. 186 based on a job-growth index.

The index measures where jobs are growing and businesses are thriving. Fayetteville, Ark., ranked as the best performing city on the list.

Also from the St. Louis Business Journal, the May Department Stores Co. plans to cut about 1,500 workers, or three to four employees at each of its stores, in a move to cut costs, according to published reports in the Journal. The company owns, among other things, Famous Barr.

Number of new factory orders rises in May

American manufacturers saw demand for their products rise modestly in May, raising hope that this battered sector of the economy may be emerging from a rough patch.

New orders placed with U.S. factories rolled in at a total value of $320.6 billion in May, representing a 0.4 percent increase from April's level, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

The increase comes after orders fell by a sharp 3 percent in April from March, the steepest decline since November 2001.

May's performance turned out to be stronger than the flat forecast economists had been making. Even so, while happy with the improvement in factory orders in May, economists said there is still reason for caution.

AT&T Wireless to cut hundreds from payroll

SEATTLE -- AT&T Wireless expects to cut hundreds of employees this year as the country's third-largest wireless telecommunications provider strives to lower costs.

The Redmond, Wash.-based company is consolidating its administrative operations, now spread out in dozens of locations across the country, into two geographic locations -- Redmond and New Jersey/New York, AT&T Wireless spokesman Mark Siegel said Wednesday. The move will help reduce real estate costs, he said.

Although employees in departments including finance, personnel and information technology were given the choice of relocating, some refused and are being cut from the payroll, he said. They will receive severance packages.

-- From staff, wire reports