Business memo 11/04/02

Business counseling sessions available

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

The counselor, Gil Degenhardt, will be available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13, at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, 1267 N. Mount Auburn Road. Call 335-3312 for an appointment. The counseling sessions are about an hour and are free of charge.

Similar sessions will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 14 at the Southeast Regional Planning Commission, 1 W. St. Joseph, in Perryville, Mo. Call 547-8357 for an appointment.

Unemployment rate edges up in October

WASHINGTON -- The nation's unemployment rate edged back up to 5.7 percent in October, indicating the jobs market remains shaky as consumer spending in the previous month fell by the largest margin in 10 months.

October's 5.7 percent jobless rate was up slightly from 5.6 percent in September, and businesses cut 5,000 jobs. It was the second month in a row of payroll cuts, the Labor Department reported Friday. Cuts came largely in manufacturing, construction and temporary employment services. Those job losses were largely offset by gains in the service sector.

Cigna Corp. reports $887 million loss

PHILADELPHIA -- Cigna Corp., the nation's third-largest health insurer, reported an $887 million loss for the third quarter and said Friday the Securities and Exchange Commission has opened an informal inquiry into the company.

Cigna's loss reported Friday amounted to $6.27 per share for the July-September quarter, including one-time charges of $1.045 billion. It earned $270 million or $1.81 per share for the same period last year.

The company said it would cooperate fully with the SEC probe, but it gave no details of what the SEC was examining. Last week, the company disclosed that a pricing miscalculation in the health-care division would sharply reduce profits, causing stock shares to lose nearly 40 percent of their value on Oct. 25.

-- From staff, wire reports