Business memo 09/30/02

Magna-Tel celebrates 35 years in Cape

Magna-Tel Inc., a magnetic promotional products company, recently celebrated its 35th anniversary of their Cape Girardeau location by hosting a barbecue luncheon for all its employees.

The company relocated to Cape Girardeau from Mounds, Ill., in 1967, a move that president and CEO Mary Ann Farmer said has proven to be an excellent decision. Magna-Tel is entering its 44th year as a promotional products supplier and continues to be a recognized leader in the industry.

Missouri's unemployment rate falls in August

Missouri's seasonally adjusted employment rate plummeted by six-tenths of a percentage point to 4.7 percent, but nonfarm payroll employment grew modestly in August, according to the Missouri Department of Economic Development.

The August unemployment rate is still a little lower than average for the period since the beginning of the recession in March 2001 and it is about the same rate as a year ago, the department said.

Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 4,500 jobs in August, on a seasonally adjusted basis. Typically, employment drifts down in August, so the increase that occurred this year translated into a somewhat larger seasonally adjusted increase. Unadjusted data, however, show only 1,700 jobs more than in July.

Business counseling sessions available

The Small Business Development Center of Southeast Missouri State University will be conducting counseling sessions for area small businespeople and individuals planning business ventures.

The counselor, Gil Degenhardt, will be available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 16, at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, 1267 N. Mount Auburn Road. Call 335-3312 for an appointment. The counseling sessions are free.

Degenhardt will also be available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 17 at the Southeast Regional Planning Commission, 1 W. St. Joseph in Perryville, Mo. Call (573) 547-8357 for an appointment.

University physics club sponsoring presentation

The Physics and Engineering Club at Southeast Missouri State University is sponsoring an engineering presentation, "Small Business Manufacturing," by Rob Ward of Schaefer's Electrical Enclosures.

The talk will be given at noon on Wednesday in Magill Hall Room MG120 on the Southeast campus.

Ward received a degree in engineering physics in 1996 from Southeast Missouri State University and an master's degree in electrical engineering in 1998 from University of Missouri-Rolla.

Big-ticket orders dip slightly in August

WASHINGTON -- Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket goods dipped by 0.6 percent in August, another negative signal for the struggling manufacturing sector. But in a dose of good news, new home sales hit a monthly all-time high.

The decline in orders for "durable" goods -- items expected to last at least three years -- reflected slackened demand for cars, communications equipment and machinery, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

Another Commerce Department report showed sales of new homes climbed to a record seasonally adjusted annual rate of 996,000 in August, representing a 1.9 percent increase from July.

Martha Stewart stock falls after plea report

NEW YORK -- Shares of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. fell in trading Thursday after a published report said an assistant at Merrill Lynch & Co. has agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor and testify against Martha Stewart and others in the federal investigation of stock sales in ImClone Systems last year.

The Wall Street Journal said in Thursday's editions that prosecutors had sought to charge the assistant, Douglas Faneuil, with a felony for making false statements to investigators, but later agreed to a misdemeanor in exchange for his cooperation.

Shares of Martha Stewart Living declined 7.7 percent, or 60 cents a share, to close Thursday at $7.20 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Through his lawyer, Faneuil declined to comment, as did the U.S. attorney's office in New York. A spokesperson for Stewart also declined to comment Thursday, but in the past she has denied wrongdoing.

SBC to cut 11,000 jobs and capital spending

SAN ANTONIO -- SBC Communications Inc. said Thursday it would cut 11,000 jobs and reduce capital spending to cope with the weak economy and regulatory setbacks.

The phone giant said 9,000 of the job cuts would occur in the fourth quarter, with the rest carried out early next year. One-third would be management jobs, the company said.

SBC, which operates in 13 states, did not give a geographical breakdown for the job cuts.

SBC has already eliminated 10,000 jobs this year.

-- From staff, wire reports