June 25, 2010

From Haden Opera House to Hollywood Theaters, the city has a rich history of movie venues. Some marquees are long gone: the Airdome, Hippodrome, Elite and Star, the M Theatre and the Bijo Dream, to name a few. Several burned to the ground. The oldest survivor, the Missouri Theatre, is a fitting site for a local historian’s display of downtown movie venues going back 113 years and recalling a time when businessmen often spent their lunch breaks in Columbia’s “movie palaces.”

Mid-Missouri bank executives believe some of the proposed federal banking regulations being debated in Congress this month could harm community banks, though a provision on deposit insurance would help. Overall, the ongoing debate in Washington is leaving local bankers with feelings of uncertainty and unfairness. The Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 is intended

Do you believe in miracles? I do. I notice them every day in flowers blooming and acts of friendship. Of course, it’s easier to see them when you are looking, but a few months ago, my husband, John, and I encountered two miracles of a more unusual nature. For me, love comes in furry packages.

Premier Bank customers might initially notice little more than a change in signage after the bank is taken over by First State next week. First State Vice Chairman and CEO Greg Allen said the bank has retained the majority of Premier’s staff and will maintain its Columbia locations as they are. “Our niche is customer

From the Editors of American Banker Almost half the banking sector’s top executives say it has gotten easier to raise capital in the past six months — perhaps none too soon, considering their forecast for writedowns. In a new KPMG LLC survey, 96 percent of chief executives and other senior bank industry officials said they

A survey of rural bankers in 10 Midwest and Plains states released on June 17 showed continued signs of a rebounding economy, though some bankers remain cautious about the future. The overall index for the Rural Mainstreet economic report dipped to 52.6 for June, from 54.3 the month before. The June 2009 index was 34.