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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  |
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 Declining Consumer Confidence Level Could Impact Holiday Shopping Season ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com), December 1, 2002 - The Gallup Organization has reported that Americans are projected to spend $769 on gifts this holiday season, about $51 less than last year, which in turn was lower than 2000 and 1999. According to recent Gallup Poll data, about 25% of Americans say they will spend less on Christmas gifts this year than they did last year. A slightly lower number, 19%, say they'll spend more. "The current pattern of projected spending continues the downward trend we have measured since 1999, in which Americans estimate lower and lower gift expenditures each year," said Frank Newport, Editor-in-Chief of The Gallup Poll. "In 1999 Americans said that they would be spending almost $900 on gifts, compared to this year's $769. Still, the recent uptick in the projected spending as we move into the Thanksgiving weekend suggests at least the possibility of a loosening of the purse strings as December approaches." Gallup has been tracking Americans' attitudes about gift buying for the past month, based on interviews with more than 3000 consumers at three separate points beginning in mid-October. The results show a slight improvement in consumers' projected spending as of the last weekend before Thanksgiving, but not enough to bring the projected average back in line with last year's. The general economic context for this year's holiday retail season is not auspicious. Last year's holiday season was marked by a general pattern of increasing optimism about the economy. The percentage of Americans perceiving that the economy was getting better jumped from 30% in November 2001 to 49% by January 2002, which no doubt was a factor in helping retail sales last year. Gallup polls this year, while reflecting a positive increase in consumer ratings of the economy as of November 24, do not yet detect a major resurgence of economic optimism as occurred last year. Rawlings Announces Interest From Potential Strategic Acquirer ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com), November 28, 2002 - Rawlings Sporting Goods Company, Inc., based in Fenton, MO, has announced that its Board of Directors is carefully evaluating an expression of interest from a strategic party for the potential acquisition of Rawlings. The expression of interest contemplates a stock-for-stock transaction at a premium to Rawlings' current share price. Primarily as a result of these developments, the Board of Directors has adopted a new Shareholder Rights Plan. The Shareholder Rights Plan will provide sufficient time, as well as flexibility and negotiating leverage, to adequately evaluate strategic alternatives in an orderly manner to facilitate enhanced value for all shareholders. In a statement, Steve O'Hara, Chairman and CEO, commented, "While there can be no assurance that we will consummate a transaction, we believe the interest put forward by the potential acquirer is reflective of our strategic value and ongoing earnings improvement. The Board felt that it was in the best interests of the Company and our shareholders to adopt the new Shareholder Rights Plan to facilitate the proper evaluation of these recent developments. The Shareholder Rights Plan will also ensure fair and equal treatment of all shareholders in any acquisition transaction that may be pursued." The Rights will be issued on December 9, 2002 to the stockholders of record as of that date and will expire in ten years, unless earlier redeemed or exchanged by Rawlings. SEC and WorldCom Settle for Very Little WASHINGTON, D.C., (PRNewswire), November 28, 2002 - As expected, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reached a partial settlement yesterday with telecom giant WorldCom in which the company may not be fined for its fraudulent practices. Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) blasted the decision for its leniency and contradiction of government policy. In addition to filing for bankruptcy, WorldCom has admitted to committing at least a $9 billion accounting fraud, and two of its top executives have already been arrested while more investigations continue. "Through the criminal actions of WorldCom executives, thousands of investors lost millions of dollars and thousands of employees were laid off. Now it appears as if the SEC will only provide the company with a slap on the wrist," said CAGW President Tom Schatz said in a statement. "The role of the SEC is to protect investors and enforce rules. Although it has yet to pass the Senate, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the SEC's request for more money and doubled their operating budget to a FY 2003 level of $750.5 million. If the SEC is going to investigate, but not punish companies who commit fraud, then why do they need the extra money?" According to the partial settlement, WorldCom agreed to not violate any SEC laws in the future, hire a consultant to oversee the company's accounting structure and policies, train senior operational and financial officers to reduce the risk of future SEC violations, and allow the court to continue to monitor its corporate governance and ethics policies. The SEC reserves the right to later request the court to impose a fine. "Arthur Andersen was fined $500,000 for obstruction of justice, yet WorldCom, which has by its own admission committed billions of dollars in fraud, warrants only a few months of investigation and possibly not even a fine," Schatz continued. "WorldCom was the largest bankruptcy in history. At a time of low investor confidence, failure to act in a consistent manner could be a blow to an already weak economy." Another contradiction of federal policy exists that pertains to WorldCom. Just two weeks ago, the General Services Administration extended a contract to the company worth an estimated $11 billion over its lifetime. The deal is for telephone long-distance and data service for the Departments of Defense, Commerce, and Interior, along with the Federal Aviation Administration, the Social Security Administration, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. "As the law requires, WorldCom should be suspended from doing business with the government, just as Enron and Arthur Andersen have been for their own fraudulent practices," concluded Schatz. "The federal government needs to be consistent and fair, and in the case of WorldCom, it was neither." Missouri's Healthiness Rating Drops to 32 ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com), November 21, 2002 - The 'Sickest' State in the U.S.A. is Louisiana; the healthiest is New Hampshire. Illinois ranks 31 and Missouri is tied with New York at 32 according to a new survey by UnitedHealth Foundation, the American Public Health Association, and the Partnership for Prevention. The survey annually ranks the states according to the healthiness of their residents. To determine the so-called "healthiness" of a state's residents, the team combined a number of factors that affect health: smoking rate, education level, healthiness of the environment, availability of health insurance, violent crime rate, and deaths from motor vehicle accidents. Missouri is 32nd this year, continuing a gradual decline from 26th in 1990. According to the survey, Missouri's strengths are high adequacy of prenatal care with 83.1 percent of pregnant women receiving adequate care, only 12.5 percent of persons under age 18 in poverty and only 10.2 percent of the population uninsured. Challenges for the state include the high prevalence of smoking at 25.9 percent of the population, much heart disease with 310.3 deaths per 100,000 population and high total mortality with 951.9 deaths per 100,000 population. Health disparities in the state are present, as illustrated by the differences by race for adequacy of prenatal care and premature death. For example, 69.0 percent pregnant American Indian women and 70.8 percent of pregnant black women receive adequate prenatal care compared to 85.3 percent of pregnant white women. Missouri ranks 25th for combined measures of risk factors and 42nd for combined measures of outcomes, indicating that the state should be able to reverse its decline in relative healthiness in the future. In the past year, the percentage of children in poverty increased from 10.6 percent to 12.5 percent of persons under age 18, and the uninsured population increased from 8.6 percent to10.2 percent. Since 1990, the prevalence in smoking has declined from 27.7 percent to 25.9 percent of the population, a decrease much lower than in other states. The report ranks Illinois 31st this year, unchanged from in 2001. Strengths include ranking eighth for support for public health care, eighth for few limited activity days, and 11th for few occupational fatalities. The state's challenges include a high violent crime rate of 657 offenses per 100,000 population and high infant mortality with 8.5 deaths per 1,000 live births. Risk factors and outcome measures are on par with each other, at 33rd and 32nd for their respective groups, and will likely keep Illinois ranked in the middle of the states. Health disparity within the state due to race is dramatic, as black individuals are 2.5 times as likely as white individuals to lose years of potential life due to premature death. In the past year, the percentage of children in poverty decreased from 17.6 percent to 15.3 percent of persons under age 18, and support for public health care worsened. Since 1990, the incidence of heart disease has decreased from 349.0 to 279.9 deaths per 100,000 population and infant mortality has declined from 11.9 to 8.5 deaths per 1,000 live births. Senator Bond Plans to Rewrite Highway Bill ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com), November 17, 2002 - Missouri Senator Kit Bond will become chairman of a key U.S. Senate subcommittee in charge of rewriting the new, multi-billion federal highway bill in 2003. Bond will become chairman of the Subcommittee on Transportation, Infrastructure and Nuclear Safety. That is a part of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Bond's new subcommittee will help write the law that, in large part, governs how and where tens of billions of federal dollars are spent to improve the nation's highways. The rewriting of this bill occurs only once every six years. In an announcement, Bond stated "The American economy and our society has outgrown our nation's highway infrastructure. In its present condition, our highway system is actually holding back our economy. That cannot be allowed to continue. Patching yesterday's highway plan with today's dollars is not a solution for tomorrow's problems. American commerce for many decades will travel the roads we begin building today. We must get started now." The new law builds upon previous reauthorizations, including the 1992 Intermodal Surface transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) and the 1998 Transportation Equity Act, which expires September 30, 2003. Located in the geographic center of the nation, Missouri is home to the country's sixth largest highway network. Unfortunately, the condition of Missouri's roads and highways has lagged far behind their increased use. In fact, in many parts of the state, poor roadway conditions have led to high accident and fatality rates. Bond has vowed to work closely with President Bush, Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta, his Senate colleagues and state and local officials from around the country to draft a reauthorization bill that meets the nation's needs.  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 . |
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