June 26, 2009

            Gov. Jay Nixon’s decision to delay but not veto a $31 million allocation for the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center is being interpreted as either a somewhat positive or a negative development. But it’s certain that the project faces future obstacles.             State Sen. Kurt Schaefer, a Columbia Republican, characterized the Democratic governors’ move as […]

Adapted from a letter to BCNB customers With the proliferation of bank failures, I thought it was time to share some information on banking industry fundamentals. By learning these basics, you can better understand the current financial crisis and have a better perspective for judging your financial providers, both now and in the future. The

Columbia’s unemployment rate dropped from 6.1 percent in March to 4.8 percent in April, according to the state Department of Labor. And that’s not the only encouraging news about the local economy. Columbia is one of the only six metropolitan areas in the United States expected to return to pre-recession employment levels by the end

  Have you ever been to a business and had an employee deliver great service, exceed your expectations and create an all-around wonderful customer experience only to have it ruined by the owner of the business? Often it’s the employees who fall short on providing the quintessential customer experience. But I recently had a misguided

Six banks with branches in the Columbia market have received money in the federal bailout, with varying degrees of involvement, motivation and plans for repayment. Thirty Missouri-based institutions had received $1.9 billion as of mid-June, or approximately 0.3 percent of total funds pledged through the Troubled Assets Relief Program, according to an investigative journalism Web

One of the pleasures of returning home after a couple weeks in the frigid north is rummaging through the papers to catch up on the news. A couple of things caught my attention, and probably yours. The first is the issue of how to fill the vacancy on the Columbia Planning and Zoning Commission. Usually,

Three banks operating in the Columbia market have made the American Bankers Association list of Top 25 Performers of 2008. Commerce Bancshares, based in Kansas City, moved from No. 24 to No. 16 in the annual ranking published in the June edition of the ABA’s Banking Journal. Central Bancompany, based in Jefferson City, was ranked

At a time when Americans are grasping to understand the causes and effects of an economic downturn, Missouri students are putting more emphasis on their financial education. For some students, the reasons may be tied to both personal and professional ambitions. “Student interest in finance appears to be strong right now,” said Bragg Stanley, director