Missouri

NEW YORK, April 5- U.S. The jobs news when combined with weaker global equity markets, the Bank of Japan's recently announced monetary stimulus program, and escalating tension in the Korean peninsula encouraged investors to buy bonds, pushing yields lower. "

CHICAGO, April 5- Early corn plantings will be delayed in the drought-stricken U.S.

ST. LOUIS-- Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander announced action Thursday against a financial management company connected to the failed Mamtek artificial sweetener plant in mid- Missouri. Kander filed a cease-and-desist order against Morgan Keegan& Co. Inc., which was the underwriter for bonds for the Mamtek project at Moberly.

HARTFORD, Conn.-- World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. and the widow of performer Owen Hart have settled a lawsuit over royalties and the use of Hart's image. WWE chief executive Vince McMahon, his wife and former CEO Linda McMahon, and the Stamford, Conn., company, confirmed the settlement.

CHICAGO, April 4- Cold and wet weather in the U.S. "Temperatures will remain cold and it definitely will keep soil temperatures low, so plantings will remain behind normal," said Don Keeney, a meteorologist for MDA Weather Services. Texas and southwest Oklahoma will remain dry, "Keeney said.

Panera Bread Co. shares rose Thursday after a Goldman Sachs analyst upgraded his rating on the restaurant chain's stock based on improving consumer demand. THE SPARK: Analyst Michael Kelter said that based on his firm's survey, consumers are more optimistic and willing to spend, especially those in high-income households.

*Powerful Senate chair says she opposes the rider. So Section 735 would benefit biotech seed companies such as Monsanto Co and Dow Chemical Co.. "We'll certainly try to get that language put into the farm bill," Mississippi farmer Danny Murphy, president of the American Soybean Association, told Reuters.

NEW YORK-- A Raymond James analyst upgraded four restaurant chains Wednesday, citing falling prices for ingredients and a return to more normal consumer demand levels in recent weeks after a weak February. Analyst Bryan Elliott upgraded Brinker International, which owns Chili's, to "Outperform" from "Market Perform."

FULTON, Mo.-- Three employees have been injured during an accident at an Ameren Corp. nuclear plant in central Missouri. St. Louis- based Ameren said the incident did not affect operations of the nuclear plant. Ameren said it was not providing details about the status of the three injured workers out of respect for their privacy.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.-- The Missouri Senate has passed legislation that would abolish a tax break for low-income seniors and disabled people who live in rental homes. The Senate's 21-12 vote Tuesday sends the legislation to the House, which already has passed a budget plan assuming the renters' tax break would be eliminated.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.-- With Kansas as the reference point, Missouri business groups urged lawmakers to cut income taxes Tuesday while education officials expressed fears that reduced revenues could result in school funding cuts.

ST. LOUIS-- Zoltek Cos. Inc. said Tuesday that it has hired J.P. Morgan Securities LLC to help the company evaluate its strategic alternatives. Zoltek has been under pressure from shareholders to make changes. Zoltek refused such a meeting.

CHARLESTON, W.Va.-- United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts was among 16 people arrested Monday in the latest demonstration about bankrupt Patriot Coal's plan to eliminate health care benefits for 23,000 current and retired miners and their families. Earl Ray Tomlin and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.

CHICAGO, April 2- Rainfall over the next two weeks in the U.S. "It will be good for the Plains but not so good for the Midwest," said Andy Karst, meteorologist for World Weather Inc.. Showers were expected to begin Tuesday and Wednesday in southern Kansas and Oklahoma, with additional rainfall anticipated in the Plains Saturday through early next week, he said.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss said the increase is encouraging because any score above 50 suggests growth. The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

WASHINGTON, March 29- President Barack Obama pitched the first major environmental effort of his second term on Friday in a bid to slash smog-forming emissions from gasoline that have been linked to lung and heart ailments, setting up a fight with Republicans and the oil industry.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.-- The Missouri House pushed Thursday to reinstate a cap on certain damages in medical malpractice cases that the state Supreme Court struck down last summer.

Plains and other parched areas of the United States, according to a report issued on Thursday. *Kansas, the top U.S. wheat-growing state, saw good improvement in drought conditions, as did neighboring Colorado. *Oklahoma and Texas both saw drought levels grow slightly worse in the prior week, but conditions are still vastly improved from the last several months.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.-- A trio of measures that could reduce taxes for some businesses won approval Wednesday in the Missouri House, as lawmakers continued pushing to keep pace with recent tax breaks in Kansas and other neighboring states. One of the bills would cut income taxes for thousands of corporations in Missouri.