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The struggling countries of Europe have cut spending for two years in hopes of averting financial catastrophe and persuading bond investors to buy their debt.
But the world’s most influential bond investor thinks it won’t work.
Bill Gross, manager of Pimco’s $252 billion Total Return Fund, the largest mutual fund, says that countries can’t simply cut their […]

Enterprise Financial Corp. said its first-quarter profit rose 50 percent, to $6.2 million, or 31 cents per share, compared with $4.1 million, or 23 cents per share, in the corresponding period of 2011. Clayton-based Enterprise Financial, the holding company for Enterprise Bank & Trust, said non-performing loans totaled $47 no fax payday loans.2 million, or […]

Romania’s government fell Friday in a no-confidence vote, as opposition parties seized on widespread public anger over biting austerity measures, cronyism and corruption.
Some 235 lawmakers voted against the government of Prime Minister Mihai Razvan Ungureanu, four more votes than needed.
Opposition leader Victor Ponta said the vote represented the end “of an abusive system that uses […]

Kraft Foods Inc. gave its CEO a pay package worth $15.7 million in 2011, which represents a 17 percent raise from the previous year.
The compensation for Irene Rosenfeld included a salary of $1.5 million, stock and option awards worth $9.7 million and incentive-based compensation of $4.2 million.
All other compensation came to $276,000 and covered costs […]

Food company Sara Lee Corp. said Friday that its shareholders will get stock valued at up to $4.55 billion when it spins off its international coffee and tea business later this year.
The coffee and tea business, which includes brands such as Senseo and Pickwick Teas, will also move its headquarters from Utrecht to Amsterdam in […]

The Obama administration will release details tomorrow on its proposal to reduce the 35 percent corporate tax rate and eliminate tax breaks, said administration officials familiar with the plan.
The Treasury Department will outline the proposal, according to the officials, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity. They didn

Japan posted a record trade deficit in January as the yen

U.S. stock futures are mixed, portending a cautious opening as Greece holds another round of debt-reduction with its creditors.
Dow futures are down 3 points at 12,584. The broader S&P 500 futures are down 2 points to 1,308.
The Nasdaq composite is up 5 points to 2,430. The tech-heavy index is getting a boost from solid earnings […]

Almost all U.S. metropolitan areas will see job growth in 2012, but for many areas it will still take years for employment to return to pre-recession levels, according to a report released on Wednesday by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
All but three U.S. metro areas will have job gains this year, led by expected […]

Under pressure to deliver shock treatment to the ailing euro, European finance ministers failed to come up with a plan for European countries to spend within their means. Such a plan is needed before Europe’s central bank and the International Monetary Fund consider stepping in to stem an escalating threat to the global economy.
The ministers […]