|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
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 
|
Consumer Confidence Rebounds in June ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com) June 11, 2005 - Americans are reporting increased consumer confidence in June as satisfaction with current economic conditions, jobs, and personal finances improved, moving the RBC CASH Index to 84, a noteworthy increase from the 18 month low score of 78.2 reported in May. However, pessimism about future conditions also increased with three out of five consumers agreeing the country is on the wrong track. This is according to the June RBC CASH (Consumer Attitudes and Spending by Household) Index. According to the survey, one-fifth (22 percent) of respondents surveyed for the RBC CASH Index rated their local economy as strong and one-quarter (26 percent) similarly characterized their personal finances. Both these figures are an improvement over May's results - 14 percent and 22 percent respectively. Positive assessments about current employment conditions further drove the overall RBC CASH Index result for June, as 43 percent of respondents report increased confidence in job security. This finding is consistent with last month's numbers and slightly below last year's results (45 percent). Additionally, one-third (33 percent) of polled consumers said they are more confident today about making a major purchase than they were six months ago. The survey findings were not entirely positive with nearly three out of five respondents (59 percent) indicating they felt the country was "off on the wrong track". This is consistent with last month's findings but up significantly from a year ago (40 percent). Furthermore, individual expectations for the local economy, personal finances, and job security dropped considerably from last month. As a result, the RBC Expectations Index, the component of the overall index that examines these specific issues, fell to 37.2 this month from 48.1 in May - and from 82.2 in June of last year. "While low interest rates and continued favorable conditions in the housing market continue to provide strong reasons to believe that the economy can continue to grow and create jobs, the sharp difference between positive consumer attitudes about their current situations and their relatively pessimistic outlook for the future, as reported in the RBC CASH index, underscore what the Treasury market may already be telling us," said Vince Boberski, senior economist at RBC Dain Rauscher. "Since 2003, the Treasury yield curve has continued to flatten, to the point where it is at its flattest point since 2001. This movement makes sense if people feel positive about the economy today, but are pessimistic about its future." The CASH Index is a monthly national survey of consumer attitudes on the current and future state of local economies, personal financial situations, savings, and confidence to make large investments. The index is benchmarked to the 100 reading assigned in January 2002 when the Index was first introduced. This month's findings are based on a representative sample of 1,001 adults polled nationwide from June 6 through June 8, 2005 by survey research company Ipsos Public Affairs. 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 . |
| |||||||||||
