|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
St. Louis Business & Technology News
www.slfp.com/SLFPBIZp.htm "When you think Saint Louis, think Saint Louis Front Page," a weekly publication covering the news and events in the greater St. Louis area. 
St. Louis Front Page P.O. Box 1354 St. Louis, MO 63188 Voice: 314-771-0200 Fax: 314-771-0300 To submit news, contact: editor@slfp.com To advertise, contact: advertising@slfp.com 
|
Smoking Bans: Who Benefits, Who Loses ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com) May 15, 2005 - Proponents of smoking bans in public places often promote the health benefits of such bans and tout economic studies that suggest prohibiting smoking has little overall impact on spending or sales. An analysis by an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, however, suggests that such bans could have a disproportional impact on certain businesses, employees and consumers. The economist, Michael R. Pakko, looked at the economic effects of smoking bans in a paper prepared for the St. Louis Fed's Center for Regional Economics (CRE8). Pakko said the conclusions reached by most studies on the economic effects of smoking bans tend to be mixed. "Some communities, for example, appear to experience a decline in sales or employment at restaurants and bars, while others appear to experience an increase, at least over time," he said. Pakko also noted that some studies find no evidence of consumers leaving for other establishments where they can smoke, while still others show some effect on bordering communities. Nevertheless, he emphasized that the statistical significance of these findings is often weak, since they are often conducted with limited data. In addition, he said that studies of smoking bans necessarily focus on communities that are among the first to implement such ordinances and, therefore, are more likely to have a proportionately lower population of smokers and/or a smaller number of businesses that would be adversely affected by the ban. He also emphasized a basic theory that restricting the options available to consumers leads them to substitute other similar products and services. In other words, both smokers and nonsmokers may choose to reallocate their spending, but the ultimate effect will not change total spending on a broad category like "entertainment" when an economic study is conducted. But the effect of smoking bans on broad measures of economic activity is only part of the story. Proprietors and customers of businesses like bars, bingo halls, bowling alleys and billiard parlors tend to express greater concern about revenue losses from smoking bans. In one nationwide survey, for example, 39 percent of restaurant owners reported expected revenue losses, while 83 percent of bar owners expected losses. On the other hand, Pakko said that family-oriented restaurants, chain outlets, fast-food restaurants and take-out establishments are generally considered less likely to be adversely affected by a smoking ban. Finally, Pakko suggested that public officials should take another factor into account in their deliberations: the increasing number of establishments that have already chosen to go smoke-free. "In our free-market economy," said Pakko, "the 'invisible hand' guides businesses to provide the goods and services that consumers demand. A government regulation that attempts to force the market toward a new equilibrium, however, may impose both transitional costs and/or long-term hardship for some businesses." Dot-Com Stock Sale Delivers Empty Promises ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com) May 15, 2005 - Two individuals who promised investors a piece of the next dot-com stock boom, but instead delivered nothing but empty promises and stock certificates believed to be worthless, are the target of a lawsuit filed Wednesday (May 11) in St. Charles County Circuit Court by Attorney General Jay Nixon. Named as defendants in the suit are AskGT.com, Las Vegas; Rose Laboratories, Bend, Ore.; and De Elroy Beeler (a.k.a. John Montgomery), an agent for both companies, from Tujunga, Calif. Also named is Wester S. Cooley, Delray Beach, Fla., who is president of AskGT.com and is also affiliated with Rose Laboratories. Nixon alleges that in 2002, Beeler - identifying himself as John Montgomery - phoned Missouri consumers and made misrepresentations while attempting to sell shares of stock in AskGT.com. Several individuals wired their money to Beeler, and either received nothing in return or received stock certificates that didn't even contain a seal. At no time were those securities registered by the Missouri Secretary of State, nor was Beeler licensed to sell securities in Missouri. "There's no nice way to put it - these individuals did not tell the truth to Missourians to whom they were pitching a so-called 'investment opportunity,'" Nixon said. "In return, all investors got out of the transaction appears to be a lighter bank account. We are asking the court to shut them down to prevent others from falling victim to their scam and to pay back their victims." In his lawsuit, Nixon alleges that Beeler told potential investors that AskGT.com was part of Bidbay - later known as Auctiondiner.com, an online auction company - and that when Bidbay issued stock as part of a public offering, a $2 per share investment would be worth $25 a share. But at the time of the solicitation, Bidbay had withdrawn its registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and in fact, had sold AskGT to Cooley, meaning the companies were no longer affiliated. Nixon is asking the court to issue a permanent injunction prohibiting the defendants from using deceptive sales practices and order them to pay full restitution to all victims, plus civil penalties. Return to St. Louis Front Page  
The Saint Louis Front Page is owned and maintained by the Moore Design Group for the sole purpose of disseminating news and information about the Metropolitan Saint Louis area. Text or graphics may not be copied, rewritten or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission. For more information, contact editor@slfp.com All rights reserved world wide © 1996 - 2008 Moore Design Group . |
| |||||||||||
