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Stocks ended mostly lower Friday as investors continued to react to the week’s downbeat economic reports that have raised concern about a double-dip recession.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 58 points, or 0.6%, to close at 10,213 and the S&P 500 (SPX) fell 4 points, or 0.4%, to close at 1,072, according to early tallies. It was the second straight week of losses for the two indexes.

Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq (COMP) composite gained less than a point to 2,180, and up slightly overall for the week.

Stocks tumbled Thursday after three key economic reports slammed confidence. Weekly jobless claims rose to their highest level since November, manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region slowed, and a key measure of future economic activity was less than had hoped.

The Dow lost 1.4%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both shed 1.7%.

"When the area of great concern in the market place (jobs) gets a dismal report and the bright spot in the economy (manufacturing) gets whacked into oblivion, fear came back into the marketplace," Phil Flynn, a senior market analyst with PFG Best, said in a note to investors. "Some call it the risk aversion trade but I say that’s a polite way of saying people are scared."

Weak economic reports have spurred worries about a slower recovery this summer, but bullish traders have been eager to put those fears on the back burner amid some strong earnings from Fortune 500 companies in the last few weeks. Now that the quarterly reports are tapering off, some of those gloomy economic reports are once again taking over the spotlight.

"Investors remain on edge over the direction of the economy," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners. "Recent economic reports, especially employment data, continue to be a worry for the market and overshadow the good news, including the expansion of corporate America."

While takeover activity and merger deals are picking up steam, a sign that companies are preparing for "better times," Cardillo said the market is still debating whether the economy is headed for a double-dip recession personal loan for poor credit.

Companies: Shares of Research in Motion (RIMM) dropped 3.4% to $48.72 after analysts at Morgan Stanley downgraded the BlackBerry maker to a "sell" rating because the company could lose market share more quickly than previously anticipated.

The downgrade sent the stock inching closer to the company’s 52-week low of $47.42 a share.

Economy: State unemployment turned gloomier in July, with jobless rates rising in 14 states and remaining unchanged in another 18. But 18 states and the District of Columbia saw a decrease in their unemployment rates, according to the Labor Department’s monthly report on state unemployment.

The state unemployment picture was slightly worse than in June, when jobless rates eased in more than half of all U.S. states for a third straight month and only five states reported jobless rate increases.

The report came a day after a separate government reading showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment insurance unexpectedly surged last week.

World markets: European shares closed lower. Germany’s DAX fell 1.2% and the CAC 40 in France slipped 1.3%. Britain’s FTSE 100 was 0.3% lower.

Asian markets ended the session in negative territory. Japan’s Nikkei led declines in the region, sinking nearly 2%. The Shanghai Composite dropped 1.7% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 0.4%.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar rose against the euro, the U.K. pound and the Japanese yen.

Oil futures for September delivery settled down 97 cents to $73.46 a barrel. Gold for December delivery slipped $6.60 to settle at $1,228.80.

Bonds: Prices for Treasurys dipped in afternoon trading, sending the yield on the 10-year note up to 2.61% from 2.57% late Thursday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. 

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Clayco Inc. announced a new partnership Tuesday with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to create safety standards during construction of a $132 million patient pavilion at Missouri Baptist Medical Center in Town & Country.

Project partners Clayco, Legacy Building Group, Murphy Company, Sachs Electric and the OSHA-St Louis office said they pledged support of a continued commitment to safety on the jobsite. The subcontractors involved in the project will also be incorporated into the partnership upon selection.

“The primary goal is to eliminate work-related injuries and incidents for the state-of-the-art medical facility through identification and promotion of construction safety strategies,” Clayco Chief Safety Officer Todd Friis said in a statement.

The West Pavilion project is part of a multiyear plan to add nearly a million square feet to Missouri Baptist, an affiliate of BJC HealthCare. The hospital is building a six-story, 227,000-square-foot West Pavilion patient tower at its Town & Country campus. The facility will feature 96 additional private hospital rooms and the necessary space for future expansions at Missouri Baptist Medical Center saving account pay day loan. In addition, a new 160,000-square-foot, 460-car parking garage will be constructed of structural steel and slab on deck construction.

The partnership is also supported by Missouri Baptist Medical Center, HOK, KJWW Engineering Consultants, the Associated General Contractors of St Louis, the Carpenters District Council of Greater St Louis and Vicinity, the St Louis Building & Construction Trades Council, the Eastern Missouri Laborers’ District Council, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local One, the Plumbers’ and Pipefitters’ Local 562 and the Sheet Metal Workers’ Local 36.

St. Louis-based Clayco Inc., led by Chairman and Chief Executive Bob Clark, is one of the largest privately held companies in the area with annual revenue of $755 million. It also has offices in Chicago, Detroit and Washington, D.C.

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You retired. But that was then. Now things have changed, and you want — or need — to return to the workforce. Jumping back in may seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be, says Age Wave CEO Ken Dychtwald, an expert on boomers and aging. The challenge of finding a job — again — isn’t just about the mechanics, like writing a résumé for the first time in years or convincing a potential employer that you’re a better hire than the perky young college grad he just interviewed. It’s also about altering your mindset and realizing that this may be a new beginning. Here’s Dychtwald’s advice on how to make your way back onto a company payroll without too much stress.

Reframe what work means

Having to go back to the office when you dreamed for years about puttering in your garden or volunteering can be frustrating, even depressing. But retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be either. For most productive, well-educated men and women, an average of 25 years of "leisure" can be terribly isolating and boring; returning to work may turn out to be a blessing after all. Remember that work is good not only for the cash flow but also keeping the mind and spirit sharp.

Don’t play the youth game

This is an area where people make a lot of mistakes Payday Loan for Bad Credit. They dye their hair (if they have any), get some hip, new, young clothes — even though they might not fit — and try to use the jargon and style of youth. That doesn’t work. A better idea: Go on the offensive and sell yourself as a mature person. Stress your capacity to make smart decisions, your good judgment in managing people, your contributions in brainstorming and business development, and your lifetime connections. This is your advantage.

Target industries with older clients

70% of all money in banks is held by people over 50. That’s an example of an industry that’s finally coming to realize that a 60-year-old client might actually appreciate dealing with a 60-year-old banker. Other sectors likely to welcome a more mature approach: adventure travel, luxury cars, lifelong learning, or retail.

–A psychologist, gerontologist, speaker, and author of 16 books, Ken Dychtwald, CEO of Age Wave, advises large companies on developing products and services for the aging population. 

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1. ENTERPRISE HOLDINGS

600 Corporate Park Drive

Clayton, Mo. 63105

314-512-5000

www.enterprise.com

Sales $12.1 billion

CEO Andrew C. Taylor

Founded 1957

Main products and services

Jack Taylor started his leasing business out of the basement of a St. Louis car dealership in 1957. The company now owns and operates the largest fleet of passenger vehicles in the world today — more than 1 million cars and trucks, operating more than 8,000 car rental locations including every major airport worldwide.

2. APEX OIL CO.

8235 Forsyth Boulevard, Suite 400

Clayton, Mo. 63105

314-889-9600

www.apexoil.com

Sales $5.5 billion

CEO Paul Novelly

Founded 1932

Main products and services

Apex is engaged in wholesale sales, storage and distribution of petroleum products including asphalt, kerosene, fuel oil, diesel, heavy oil, gasoline and marine bunkers. The company has terminals in the Midwest, East Coast, Gulf Coast and California.

3. GRAYBAR ELECTRIC CO.

34 North Meramec Avenue

Clayton, Mo. 63105

314-573-9200

www.graybar.com

Sales $4.4 billion

CEO Robert A. Reynolds Jr.

Founded 1925

Main products and services

Graybar distributes electrical, communications and networking products. One of the largest employee-owned companies in North America, it has a network of about 6,900 employees and nearly 240 locations across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.

4. EDWARD JONES

12555 Manchester Road

Des Peres, Mo. 63131

314-515-2000

www.edwardjones.com

Sales $3.5 billion

CEO James D. Weddle

Founded 1922

Main products and services

Tracing its roots to its first branch office in Mexico, Mo., investment house Edward Jones now has more than 10,000 offices in the U.S., Canada and Britain. Believing that online trading encourages rash decision-making, the company instead prefers to have one-broker offices and personal contact with investors. Edward Jones, which is the largest U.S. financial services company in terms of number of offices, serves more than 7 million clients.

5. CENTER OIL CO.

600 Mason Ridge Center Drive

Town and Country, Mo. 63141

314-682-3500

www.centeroil.com

Sales $3.3 billion

CEO Gary R. Parker

Founded 1986

Main products and services

Center Oil distributes gasoline and other refined petroleum products throughout the U.S. by pipeline, ship, barge and truck to and from 10 petroleum-product terminals in the Midwest and East Coast.

6. McCarthy Holdings Inc.

1341 North Rock Hill Road

St. Louis, Mo best payday advance. 63124

314-968-3300

www.mccarthy.com

Sales $3.1 billion

CEO Michael D. Bolen

Founded 1864

Main products and services

McCarthy Holdings Inc., comprised of McCarthy Building and MC Industrial, provides construction services from coast to coast with full-service offices in Missouri, Texas, California, Arizona, Nevada and Georgia. An employee-owned company, McCarthy was ranked the 20th largest U.S. construction firm in trade publication Engineering News-Record’s 2010 listing of top 400 contractors.

7. SCHNUCK MARKETS INC.

11420 Lackland Road

Maryland Heights, Mo. 63146

314-994-9900

www.schnucks.com

Sales $2.5 billion

CEO Scott C. Schnuck

Founded 1939

Main products and services

The family-owned grocery chain operates more than 100 supermarkets in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Mississippi and Iowa. Nearly all are operated under the Schnucks brand.

8. WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY INC.

60 Weldon Parkway

Maryland Heights, Mo. 63043

314-569-7000

www.wwt.com

Sales $2.2 billion

CEO James P. Kavanaugh

Founded 1990

Main products and services

The St. Louis area’s largest minority-owned business, World Wide Technology provides technology and supply chain solutions to commercial, government and telecommunications customers.

9. ALTER TRADING CORP.

700 Office Parkway

St. Louis, Mo. 63141

314-872-2400

www.altertrading.com

Sales $1.8 billion

CEO Robert Goldstein

Founded 1898

Main products and services

Alter Trading is a fourth-generation family-owned company. Its principals also own 40 percent of Isle of Capri Casinos. Alter is one of the nation’s largest scrap metal recyclers and brokers, with processing plants and office locations throughout the central U.S. Alter has rapidly expanded, offering full product recycling capabilities and trading directly with consumers. It operates 32 scrap recycling facilities with shredders, shears and balers.

10. UNIGROUP INC.

One Premier Drive

Fenton, Mo. 63026

636-305-5000

www.unigroupinc.com

Sales $1.6 billion

CEO H. Daniel McCollister

Founded 1987

Main products and services

UniGroup is parent of moving companies United Van Lines and Mayflower Transit. It also controls a global mobility management service company, and an insurer for trucking companies and movers.

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RESEARCH: Matthew Fernandes | Post-Dispatch

Data on Apex and Alter compiled from Sorkins.com

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LSI Industries announced Tuesday that it will close its LSI Greenlee Lighting plant in Dallas and consolidate the operations in Cincinnati.

The Dallas plant employs 40. The closing will take place in phases over six months, with about five to six engineering and sales employees remaining in Dallas, said Chief Financial Officer Ron Stowell. The plant manufactures outdoor architectural and landscape lighting, he said.

LSI said in a news release that it is consolidating the operations to centralize its manufacturing operations, lower costs and improve how it uses space in its Cincinnati plant. Besides its Dallas and Cincinnati plants, LSI has 13 other facilities in the U payday advance low fees.S. and Canada.

The company said it will try to sublease the 40,000-square-foot Dallas plant. Its lease on the building extends to February 2012.

LSI Industries (NASDAQ: LYTS), headquartered in Blue Ash, designs and manufactures lighting fixtures and graphic elements for the retail, specialty niche and commercial markets. The company posted sales of $53.5 million and a net loss of $2.5 million for its fiscal third quarter.

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The Pentagon is telling bidders for a major tanker project to be ready to start the contract on Nov. 12.

The contract is worth at least $35 billion to build 179 refueling jets. Bids are expected from Boeing Co. and European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said Tuesday that the Pentagon still hopes to award the contract in the fall, but that it set the Nov. 12 start date so that bidders could plan around it.

The request for proposals calls for the contract to be awarded on Aug. 12. That has appeared unlikely since the Pentagon extended the bidding deadline by two months, until July 9, so that EADS could bid.

The Nov. 12 date was set in an update on the tanker posted on a federal procurement website on Thursday. It includes a question about the estimated date the contract will be awarded. The answer says bidders should "prepare their proposals assuming a contract start date" of Nov. 12. Morrell said the contract start date is not the same as the date it will be awarded.

The Pentagon has said it will try to compress the time between when the bids come in and when it picks a winning bidder.

The Air Force needs to replace its KC-135 refueling tankers, which date to the 1950s. It has been trying to pick someone to make the new tanker since 2003.

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The Wichita school board on Monday will consider a list of more than $7.5 million in proposed budget cuts that would include laying off 117 workers.

USD 259 Superintendent John Allison announced the possible cuts Thursday as the district wrestles with cutting $25 million from its 2010-11 budget. The district has been notifying affected personnel this week of the possible jobs cuts.

“This has been difficult as we have informed employees that they may no longer have a job because it not only affects them, it affects their families and the economy,” Allison said in a statement. “We can’t make these kinds of cuts without cutting positions or affecting programs. Each cut that we make has a direct impact on students, teachers and our schools.”

The district is proposing to eliminate 44 learning services staff positions, 15 facilities staff members, five safety services personnel and three human resources positions, among others.

Other proposed cuts include eliminating the district’s drivers’ education program, eliminating job sharing positions at the elementary level and closing the Metro-Midtown Alternative High School, which was announced April 14 and could save $1 million.

To date, the district has recommended $14.2 million in cuts, which leaves another $10.7 million to slash.

Allison notified district employees of the proposed cuts in an e-mail Thursday afternoon.

“It is with great sadness that I share with you the next phase of budget reductions,” Allison wrote.

Allison said the proposed cuts were not taken lightly.

“I said from the beginning of this very difficult budget process that we would make necessary cuts as far away from the classroom as possible, and I can assure you we have worked to do just that,” Allison wrote. “However, we have now reached the point that people and classrooms are directly impacted.”

The district will be finalizing its list of cuts in the coming weeks as it prepares to adopt its budget for next year.

Proposed phase one budget cuts include changing start and end times at eight schools beginning next year, which represents $2.5 million in savings.

Phase two reductions include reducing overtime, eliminating the remaining four school resource officers at the district’s middle schools and suspending the Grow Your Own Teacher program. Those proposals equal $4.2 million.

Allison’s recommendations Thursday represent two additional phases of cuts, one totaling $5.2 million and the other $2.3 million.

Additional cuts will be shared in May, along with recommendations concerning the reductions schools must make. The district won’t know the total amount it has to cut until the Kansas Legislature finalizes its budget.

USD 259 is Wichita's third-largest employer with 9,343 employees district wide, according to a Wichita Business Journal list that published in January.

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The number of Americans filing for unemployment insurance for the first time jumped last week, according to government data released Thursday.

There were 460,000 initial jobless claims filed in the week ended April 3, up 18,000 from an upwardly revised 442,000 the previous week, according to the Labor Department’s weekly report.

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected new claims to fall to 435,000 in the week. The number of new claims were just below the level reached in the Feb. 27 week, when initial claims totaled 466,000.

The Labor Department also tracks the 4-week moving average of initial claims, which smoothes out volatility in the measure. That number was 450,250 for the week, up 2,250 from the previous week’s downwardly revised average of 448,000.

The data may have been clouded by factors that included the end of the first quarter and religious holidays, which made it difficult to get an accurate reading, according to a Labor Department official who asked not to be named.

The report also said that 4,550,000 people filed continuing claims in the week ended March 27, the most recent data available. That figure, the lowest level since Dec. 20, 2008, was down 131,000 from the preceding week’s 4,681,000 claims, and below the 4.63 million economists expected, according to Briefing.com.

The 4-week moving average for continuing claims was 4,648,250, a decrease of 36,000 from the preceding week’s revised average of 4,684,250.

Continuing claims data exclude people whose benefits expired or those who have moved to state or federal extensions. It reflects those filing each week after their initial claim until the end of their standard benefits, which usually last 26 weeks.

"The general trend in the jobs market is improving, reinforced by the decline in continuing claims," said Carl Riccadonna, senior U.S. economist for Deutsche Bank. "That’s a good indication that the next move in the unemployment rate could be lower."

President Obama and lawmakers in the House and Senate in March pushed for more relief, by extending the deadline to file for unemployment insurance and instituting a number of tax breaks for businesses.

The goal of these measures has been to spark job growth and bring down the national unemployment rate, which hovers at 9.7%.

Jobless claims rose the most in Texas, with an increase of 3,640, primarily due to more layoffs in the finance, service, and manufacturing industries. Oregon and New Jersey rounded out the top three states with the largest increases in new claims.

Conversely, Michigan, Illinois and Oklahoma were the top three states with the largest declines in initial claims.

The report came after last week’s much anticipated non-farm payrolls figures, which showed the U.S. economy added 162,000 jobs in March. Full-time positions unexpectedly outnumbered temporary Census-related jobs.

Still, initial claims will be top of mind for economists, as movement in the figure is likely to affect non-farm payrolls and the unemployment rate.

"If we see initial claims break lower than 400,000 for an extended period, that would be a good sign that we’re going to see sustained triple-digit non-farm payroll gains," said Riccadonna.  

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With austerity the national mindset in this iffy economy, anything hip or trendy may seem extravagant.

Everyone must be too busy clipping sale coupons and saving soap slivers to have time for such frivolity, right? To the contrary, according to some investment experts who believe that hip can be a smart investor direction.

"People don’t feel flush right now so they need a reason to buy stuff," explained Marie Driscoll, retail analyst for Standard & Poor’s Corp. in New York.

The ability to keep up with often-fickle trends is a worthy skill that many companies have failed miserably to master. Those that have done it best often command top dollar for their shares, but their likelihood of continued success could make them worth their premium price.

One retailer that consistently attracts the hippest of young people — ranging in age from the teens to mid-20s — is Urban Outfitters Inc., according to Driscoll. Its ever-changing merchandise, ranging from fashion and furniture to electronics, is part of a strategy to transform casual shoppers into motivated buyers. Its innovative Anthropologie and Free People brands are growing faster than its regular Urban Outfitters stores.

"You go into one of its stores and it’s like a flea market or thrift market, the appeal being that you don’t know what you’re going to see," she explained, noting that even snowy weather didn’t dampen sales. "It has an ear to both guys and girls as target customers and knows how to change to keep up with those customers."

Stock of Urban Outfitters (URBN) is up 4 percent this year after last year’s dramatic 134 percent gain. It receives a consensus "buy" rating from the Wall Street analysts who track it, according to Thomson Reuters.

It is quite possible that when those young customers return home they relax by playing best-selling video game Guitar Hero, which lets them simulate playing the guitar across a variety of rock music songs. It is from Activision Blizzard Inc., the firm that resulted from the 2008 merger of Activision and Vivendi Games.

"Cool games that hardcore gamers like are still coming from the traditional players in this space," noted Toan Tran, technology analyst with Morningstar Inc. in Chicago.

The video game portfolio of Activision Blizzard includes Call of Duty, Tony Hawk and the role-playing game World of Warcraft. If you’re behind the times on those, you’ll surely recognize its Spider-Man and James Bond titles. The durability and worldwide appeal of its franchises, especially throughout Asia, position it for future growth, Tran believes.

The stock of Activision Blizzard (ATVI) is up 5 percent this year after last year’s 29 percent increase. Its consensus analyst rating is between "strong buy" and "buy."

For the modern crowd that expects the latest communication devices, Apple Inc no teletrack payday loans. is hotter than BlackBerry maker Research in Motion, believes Michael Lippert, portfolio manager of Baron iOpportunity Fund (BIOPX) in New York. Although outstanding for e-mail, the BlackBerry hasn’t connected with younger consumers, he said.

"Apple’s iPhone will gain even more market share when it moves to multiple carriers rather than just AT&T," predicted Lippert, who acknowledges BlackBerry’s competency but doesn’t believe the younger crowed is all that excited about it. "I feel that if you can walk into a Verizon store and get a BlackBerry or iPhone for the same price, why will anyone get anything other than an iPhone?"

Apple has remained a relevant company, said Lippert, who expects that its new iPad tablet computer will also be popular with the college-age crowd.

"There is no more hip company in technology than Apple," agreed Tran. "While it remains to be seen how big an impact the iPad will have on the market, I’m leaning toward the view that it will be another huge hit."

The stock of Apple (AAPL) is up 7 percent this year after last year’s 147 percent increase. Its consensus analyst rating is between "strong buy" and "buy."

Lippert’s $182 million Baron iOpportunity Fund is up 82 percent in value over the past 12 months and has a five-year annualized return of 8 percent. Besides Apple, another big holding is Google Inc. (GOOG).

"The YouTube service used by millions of people is one reason why Google is still hip and cool," said Lippert. "Other companies such as Facebook, Twitter and Hulu are at the epicenter of what’s considered cool, but unlike Google they aren’t public companies that you can invest in."

Engadget, a popular Web-based consumer electronics magazine based in Silicon Valley, is also considered hip these days, added Lippert. Not everyone may know that this weblog and podcast operation is owned by AOL Inc., now a stand-alone company after its divorce from Time Warner. Shares of AOL (AOL), up 9 percent this year, are a consensus "hold" among the analysts who track them.

Another Driscoll favorite is J. Crew Group Inc. (JCG), whose merchandise always has a fresh look and increasingly attracts shoppers from luxury designer stores, she said. Meanwhile, Tran admires Electronic Arts Inc. (ERTS) for its leadership in video games, with Asia the growth driver. Its Rock Band game competes with Activision Blizzard’s Guitar Hero.

Whether 2010 hipness leaders will continue into 2011 and beyond will be decided by their hip customers.

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