MEMO

The Small Business Development Center will conduct counseling sessions in three areas this month.

Gil Degenhardt, counselor, will be available April 27, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce office. The counseling sessions (about one hour each) are free. Call 335-3312 for an appointment.

Degenhardt will conduct sessions at the Sikeston Chamber of Commerce April 26, from 9 a.m. to noon. Appointments are available by calling 471-2498. He will hold sessions at the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning office in Perryville April 28 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Appointments are available by calling 547-8357. Sessions will be held at the Malden Chamber of Commerce April 21, from 9 to 11 a.m.

The Small Business Development Center represents a "Partnership for Economic Development" between Southeast Missouri State University, the U.S. Small Business Administration, local financial institutions, area utility companies and Southeast Missouri municipalities. The goal of the center is to stimulate diversity and growth in small-business by assisting new and existing businesses to become more productive and profitable.

Union Electric Company has launched a 1-800 number for its customers outside the metropolitan Cape Girardeau area.

Cape Girardeau customers will continue to call 651-5600 for service-related and trouble calls and billing information. Other customers may dial 1-800-55(ASKUE) for answers to their questions.

A feature of the system is that customers outside Cape Girardeau who dial the 1-800 number still will talk to the Southeast District Customer Service Center at Cape.

"The number is easy for customers to remember and will give them ready access to our customer service personnel," said Charles J. Schukai, senior vice president, UE Customer Services.

Union Electric provides energy to 1.2 million customers in Missouri and Illinois.

More than a year ago Massac County employment was in double digits, hovering around 11 percent.

But when the most recent Illinois employment figures were revealed, the Southern Illinois community -- across the Ohio River from Paducah, Ky. -- recorded an unemployment rate of 5.5 percent.

Alexander and Pulaski counties, for the first time in a long while, were not among the top 10 unemployment areas. Alexander, which has recorded figures as high as 19 percent over the past year, was at 11.6 percent in February totals, and Pulaski was down to 10.7 percent.

Meanwhile, Pope County hit the top of the unemployment chart with a 17.4 reading, followed by Saline County at 16.7 and Hamilton at 15.2. Union County, which was 17 percent following the close of two big businesses in February 1993, has dropped two and a half points, but remains seventh on the list at 14.5 percent unemployment.

"We've had some layoffs across the region," said Charles M. "Mike" Vessell, labor market economist with the Illinois Department of Employment Security office at Harrisburg. "None of the layoffs appear to be permanent, although some are indefinite. Hopefully, we'll be seeing some employment improvements in the area soon."

Mercantile Bancorporation Inc. has announced increases in first quarter, 1994, income.

Net income was reported at $38,855,000, a 17.5 increase over 1993 earnings of $33,065,000 for the same period. Per share net income for the quarter was up 15.2 percent, from 79 cents in 1993 to 91 cents in 1994.

"Continued asset quality improvements and operating expense reduction, a strong net interest rate margin, and contributions from our core fee-based businesses are reflected in Mercantile's sustained earnings growth," said Thomas H. Jacobsen, Mercantile's chairman and chief executive officer.

Total assets at March 31 were $11.98 billion, total loans outstanding were $7.5 billion, and deposits in the corporation's banks totaled $9.3 billion.

Mercantile Bancorporation Inc., headquartered in St. Louis, owns 42 financial institutions in Missouri -- including Cape Girardeau -- Eastern Kansas, Southern Illinois and Northern Iowa.

A.G. Edwards Inc., a brokerage firm headquartered at St. Louis, has outgrown its offices.

The company announced plans last week to build a new seven-story building and parking garage next to its midtown headquarters in St. Louis.

Construction on the new 300,000-square-foot office building will start this summer, with a completion date of mid-1995. The office building will be built on the firm's present parking lot.

The new multi-story garage, which will handle 850 cars, will be built on Olive Street next to the standing headquarters building.