The Character Education Partnership (CEP) has named 6 Missouri schools as 2012 National Schools of Character (NSOC): Ellisville Elementary, Trautwein Accelerated Elementary (St. Louis), Ross Elementary (St. Louis), Brentwood Middle School, Northview High School (Florissant), and Pattin Primary School (Festus).   Read More...

The top-ranked Missouri company, Express Scripts, fell five places to 60th, but should vault much higher next year when its acquisition of Medco Health Services will be included.   Read More...

Construction on the Missouri Innovation Park in Blue Springs could begin in the fall, The Independence Examiner reports. Blue Springs Mayor Carson Ross said Thursday that he hoped work would begin on building the project this fall, with the park opening in early 2014. The Missouri Innovation Park is a venture with the University of Missouri that is meant to attract health, energy and nanotechnology companies.   Read More...

The Missouri Botanical Garden, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and the New York Botanical Garden, today announced plans to develop the World Flora, the first modern, online catalog of the world’s plants.
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Nestlé has agreed to buy Pfizer Inc.'s infant nutrition business for $11.85 billion in an effort to tap emerging markets and clinch its spot as the world's top provider of baby formula, The Wall Street Journal reports. The Swiss company estimates 2012 sales for its purchase at $2.4 billion, mostly from emerging markets. Nestlé expects the deal, which needs regulatory approval, to add to earnings per share in the first full year, the report says.   Read More...

For the fourth time in five years, Commerce Bank topped the J.D. Power and Associates U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study in the Midwest Region.   Read More...

The IBEW/NECA Electrical Industry Training Center in St. Louis is the first in Missouri to offer an Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program (EVITP).   Read More...

Ameren Missouri Forms an Alliance with Westinghouse Electric to Apply for Department of Energy Small Modular Nuclear Reactor Investment Funds
Ameren Missouri, a utility company of Ameren Corporation, announced it has entered into an agreement with Westinghouse Electric Company, a proven, global leader in nuclear energy and small modular reactor technology development, to exclusively support Westinghouse’s application for the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Small Modular Reactors (SMR) investment funds of up to $452 million.   Read More...

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon says his administration has signed a trade agreement with the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil.   Read More...

Corning plans to pay roughly $730 million in cash to acquire the bulk of Becton Dickinson's lab-products business, snapping up a portfolio it said would significantly increase its presence in the life-sciences market.

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Fifteen area companies are among 43 total companies that will present to venture capitalists, corporate and private investors and investment bankers today at the 13th Annual InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum in St. Louis, the St. Louis Business Journal reports. Since its first forum in St. Louis in May 2000, InvestMidwest has helped generate more than $850 million in investments and acquisitions for innovative growth companies.   Read More...

Great Plains Energy Inc. and American Electric Power have formed a company that will build and invest in transmission infrastructure, the companies announced Wednesday. The new company will be called Transource EnergySM LLC. Kansas City-based Great Plains owns 13.5 percent; AEP owns the rest. Great Plains said the partnership would put it in a good position to compete in the emerging competitive transmission market.   Read More...

Sigma-Aldrich Corp. acquired Cleveland-based Research Organics Inc. to expand the company’s buffer production capacity and increase its portfolio of pharmaceutical grade raw materials for the biopharmaceutical and diagnostic markets, the St. Louis Business Journal reports. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.   Read More...

Express Scripts closed on its $29.1 billion acquisition of Medco Health Solutions today, the company announced shortly after 7 a.m. The deal creates the largest pharmacy benefits manager in the U.S., with about $100 billion in annual revenue. First announced in July 2011, the acquisition was approved by shareholders in December but was held up by antitrust concerns.   Read More...

Washington University in St. Louis spent $696 million on research and development in all fields in fiscal year 2010, putting the university at No. 19 in research and development spending on a list of U.S. institutions compiled by the National Science Foundation, the St. Louis Business Journal reports.
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Trade & Industry Development has announced its 7th Annual CiCi (Corporate Investment & Community Impact) Awards.   Read More...

Gov. Jay Nixon, St. Joseph city officials and officials with KCP&L today celebrated a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the completion of a renewable energy project at the City of St. Joseph landfill.   Read More...

Zoltek Cos. is working with Magna Exteriors and Interiors, an operating unit of Magna International Inc., to develop low-cost carbon fiber sheet molding compounds for the automotive industry.
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Hallmark Cards Inc. plans to close a subsidiary in Indiana and move work on the greeting card brand to Kansas City, The Kansas City Star reports. Hallmark acquired Sunrise Greetings in 1998. Its about 90 employees will be offered outplacement and relocation support, the Star reports. Hallmark spokeswoman Julie O’Dell said the company doesn’t know how many and what types of jobs will move to Kansas City.   Read More...

Schaffhausen, Switzerland-based Tyco International Ltd. has agreed to spin off its Tyco Flow division to Minneapolis-based Pentair for $4.53 billion, Bloomberg reports. Tyco, which creates valves and other flow-control instruments, said shareholders will own 52.5 percent of the combined company with Pentair investors owning the remainder. The deal would create a $7.7 billion business in combined sales and save Tyco a potential $250 million annually.   Read More...