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Buying a house in the city or suburbs can be complicated enough, but buying a cottage or vacation property outside of town requires even more due diligence.
In town, you probably wouldn

Asked for a single-word response to sum up their state of mind, a significant number said they feel “lost.”
Others assessed themselves as “unsuccessful.” All were mired in futility.
No wonder: It has been at least a year since the 16 people who turned up at a Friday “boot camp” for the long-term unemployed last reported to […]

Record sales from dental diagnostic equipment and related products helped Young Innovations Inc. raise profits in the first quarter. The Earth City-based manufacturer of equipment used by dentists, hygienists, and consumers reported a net income of $4 million, or 50 cents a share, compared to $3.6 million, or 44 cents, a year ago. Sales rose […]

Employees and their families who enter Centene Corp’s new health clinic in downtown Clayton encounter a decorative rock fountain in the waiting area and a medical assistant behind the reception desk.
The muted d?cor, in soft hues of green, brown and orange, provides patients a spa-like setting. Three client “care suites” - extra-large, well-appointed rooms with […]

German business confidence probably stayed at a record high in January as booming exports to Asia and stronger household spending bolstered growth in Europe’s largest economy.
The Ifo institute’s business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, probably held at 109.9 in January, the median of 41 forecasts in Bloomberg News survey shows. […]

Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Charles Plosser said that while unemployment will probably stay too high for the foreseeable future, he hasn’t ruled out favoring a rate increase this year should economic growth warrant such a move.
“If economic growth in the United States continues to gain traction and the prospects begin to look […]

Britain’s business minister says he will guarantee that the monarch’s head will appear on British postage stamps even if Royal Mail is sold to a foreign buyer.
Sculptor Arnold Machin’s depiction of a youthful Queen Elizabeth II has appeared on billions of stamps since it was first commissioned in 1967 and has become a classic of […]

Ireland’s finance minister said Sunday that he would back a move to ask the international community for tens of billions of euros in loans and guarantees to keep his country’s crisis-hit finances afloat.
Brian Lenihan said that the country was running a deficit of 19 billion euros which it could not afford to finance at current […]

Home prices in Manhattan, the most expensive large housing market in the nation, appear to be stabalizing — and maybe even growing.
Condo and coop prices rose between 7.5% and 14% in the last quarter, compared to the same period a year ago, according to a host of markets reports released Friday by big New […]

Nokia’s stock rallied Friday after the Finnish mobile phone maker said it was replacing its chief executive with an executive from Microsoft Corp.
Nokia’s board of directors said it hired Stephen Elop for the position of president and CEO. Currently the head of Microsoft’s (MSFT, Fortune 500) business division, Elop is scheduled to begin his […]