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SSM Health Care-St. Louis named Robert William “Bill” Hoefer as the next president of St. Clare Health Center in Fenton. He will begin his duties on Jan. 3.

In addition to leading the 174-bed hospital, which opened in 2009, Hoefer will serve as service line executive for the SSM Neurosciences Institute.

For the past four years, Hoefer has been vice president of operations for Sentara Norfolk General Hospital no fax payday loans. He has a master’s degree in health care administration from the Washington University School of Medicine.

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The launch of the iPhone 4S was executed at the Toronto Eaton centre with usual military precision and near-religious fervour. Already, some products are sold out.

On Friday morning the store front was a sort of shrine, decorated with flowers and multicoloured post-it notes bearing messages for the late leader, Steve Jobs.

“Thanks for my Christmas gifts,” wrote Ashley. “Thank you Steve Jobs you are in the iClouds now,” wrote another.

“iSad,” said someone else.

More: Five reasons to avoid the new iPhone 4S

More: Apple co-founder Wozniak first in line for new iPhone

More: Glitches raise ire of iPad, iPhone users

The line began Thursday. Mo Bastaki, a 22-year-old accountant, arrived around 6 p.m. This launch is special, says Bastaki, “It’s the last product Steve was alive for.”

But Bastaki, along with some hundred other people, was thrown out of the centre into the rain at 2 a.m.

When they were let back in three hours later, it was a Lord of the Flies affair payday loans. “All these guys who weren’t in line, got in line,” he says.

For some, the exercise is a cultural one. “We come here to feel the environment,” says Xianwen Zhang, a 22-year-old Chinese student from Zhejiang studying with his friends at Humber College, “This does not happen in China.”

It’s a business opportunity for others. One American woman (who wished to stay anonymous) is buying 16 phones for her Russian friends, who pay her to fly back and deliver the goods. “I get to see my brother and friends,” she says.

At six in the morning, blue-shirted Apple employees gave out white tickets, embossed with a perfect silver Apple on top. A ticket equals one phone.

In under two hours, the 32 g white phone had sold out. “If you were thinking white,” said Apple employee Brandon R to people at the end of the line, “maybe think black.”

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Investors waded into Asian stocks Thursday, heartened by new efforts by European leaders to strengthen their continent’s banks and deal with Greece’s massive debts.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained 1.2 percent to 8,839.13 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was 1.3 percent higher at 18,563.34. South Korea’s Kospi index rose 1 percent to 1,828.67. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.7 percent to 4,232.30.

Benchmarks in Taiwan, Malaysia and the Philippines also rose, while those in Singapore, Shanghai and New Zealand fell.

On Wednesday, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called for European banks to raise billions in new capital and for a stricter accounting of their exposure to sovereign debt. Barroso also called for a permanent bailout fund to come into force by mid-2012, one year ahead of schedule.

Barroso’s proposals for helping Europe’s struggling banks fueled investor appetite for riskier assets like stocks, analysts said.

“Risk appetite improved, bank stocks rallied … after EC President Jose Barroso pledged for urgent recapitalizing of European banks,” Credit Agricole CIB said in a research note.

Investors also shrugged off Slovakia’s rejection Tuesday of a measure to strengthen Europe’s bailout fund, focusing hopes that a solution would be found before a summit of EU leaders next week.

In the U.S., meanwhile, companies have begun to release their third-quarter earnings reports, and so far the results have been mixed.

The results “will be crucial” to determining the direction of stock markets over the coming days, Credit Agricole said.

PepsiCo Inc. rose 2.9 percent after the company said its income rose because of stronger sales of snacks and beverages, especially overseas. But Alcoa Inc. dropped 2.4 percent after the aluminum maker reported earnings that were weaker than analysts expected.

The Dow rose 0.9 percent to close at 11,518.85. The S&P 500 rose 1 percent to 1,207.25. The Nasdaq composite index rose 21.70, or 0.8 percent, to 2,604.73.

Benchmark oil for November delivery was down 83 cents to $84.74 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 24 cents to end at $85.57 per barrel on the Nymex on Wednesday.

In currencies, the euro slipped to $1.3779 from $1.3793 late Tuesday in New York. The dollar dropped to 77.08 yen from 77.30 yen.

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Greece’s international debt inspectors have completed their review of the government’s reforms, saying Tuesday that if their conclusions are adopted by the eurozone and IMF, Athens is likely to receive the next batch of its bailout loans in early November.

The inspectors from the International Monetary Fund, European Commission and European Central Bank, collectively known as the troika, said Greece’s deficit targets for 2011 were “no longer within reach,” but that additional measures announced were adequate for 2012.

They said additional measures would likely be needed for 2013-2014, and that they should “focus on the expenditure side.”

Greek authorities “continue to make important progress, notably with regard to fiscal consolidation,” the troika said in a joint statement.

“To ensure a further reduction in the deficit in a socially acceptable manner and to set the stage for a recovery to take hold, it is essential that the authorities put more emphasis on structural reforms in the public sector and the economy more broadly.”

Greece has been dependent since May last year on a euro110 billion ($150 billion) bailout package from other eurozone countries and the IMF. Without the next euro8 billion loan installment, the country has said it would run out of funds to pay salaries and pensions in mid-November.

Mired in a recession that is deeper than originally expected, Greece’s economy is now only expected to recover from 2013 onwards, the troika said.

“There is no evidence yet of improvement in investor sentiment and the related increase in investments, in part because the reform momentum has not gained the critical mass necessary to begin transforming the investment climate,” it said free credit report and score. It noted, however, that exports were rebounding.

The debt inspectors said the Greek government had achieved a “major reduction” in the deficit despite the recession. However, it said, “the achievement of the fiscal target for 2011 is no longer within reach, partly because of a further drop in GDP, but also because of slippages in the implementation of some of the agreed measures.”

Additional measures the government recently announced _ which include extra taxes and suspending about 30,000 civil servants on partial pay _ “should be sufficient to bring the fiscal program back on track and ensure that the deficit target of euro14.9 billion will be met.”

The troika said that delays in the country’s privatization effort combined with worse market conditions would lead to “significantly lower” revenue than expected this year, but that the government was still committed to raising euro35 billion through privatizations by the end of 2014.

“Ensuring that the privatisation fund remains independent from political pressures remains key for success in this area,” it said.

Once the other eurozone countries and the board of the IMF approve the troika’s review, “the next tranche of euro8 billion … will become available, most likely, in early November.”

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The Iraqi army was supposed to pull out of the nation’s cities by the end of this year but is delaying the pullback over security concerns, the Iraqi military spokesman said Saturday.

The delay is an acknowledgment that even after four years of declining violence, Iraq’s police force is not capable of maintaining security on its own. The other worry is that violence will increase when American troops complete their own withdrawal from the country at year’s end.

The government’s plan remains to eventually hand over security to the police and pull Iraqi troops back to bases outside the cities. But the spokesman for the Baghdad military operations command, Qassim al-Moussawi, said Saturday that the military is worried that the police will not be able to handle security in all areas of the country.

“We started to hand over gradually in some areas. But other areas we can’t hand over to the police because still the Interior Ministry needs the support of the Iraqi army. It is not capable now nor by the end of 2011.”

The Iraqi army’s presence can be felt all over Iraq’s quasi-militarized cities, where soldiers in helmets and flak vests and carrying AK-47’s man checkpoints and drive around in Humvees. The army has received the bulk of the training and support from the U.S. military and is generally seen as more competent than the police.

The police, since they tend to work and live in the same areas, have had problems with infiltration by various militant factions and are perceived as less willing to go after lawbreakers.

“We are monitoring the situation to see when police have the capability to maintain the security in order to hand over the responsibility to them,” al-Moussawi said.

Al-Moussawi said there were concerns that if the Iraqi army pulled out of the cities, violence would return.

According to the 2008 agreement signed between the U.S. and Iraq, all American troops are scheduled to leave Iraq by the end of this year. The American government will still keep a sizable presence in Iraq where it has its largest embassy in the world plus offices in Irbil, Kirkuk and Basra.

Iraqi political leaders have said they would like to have American military training help, but negotiations between the two sides are stuck on what type of legal protection to give any American troops who remain behind.

Even if a contingent of American forces were to stay behind, they would likely have a very limited role that would not extend much to combat operations, meaning the job of protecting the country against both Sunni and Shiite militias would rest solely with the Iraqis.

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The United Auto Workers may be nearing a tentative contract agreement with Ford.

The union has called leaders from factories across the nation to Detroit on Tuesday. That usually means a deal has been reached.

But a person briefed on the negotiations says talks ended Sunday night with no agreement. The negotiations are scheduled to resume Monday. The person didn’t want to be identified because the talks are private.

An agreement would set the wages and benefits for 41,000 Ford workers nationwide for four years guaranteed unsecured personal loan.

It’s expected to have no pay raises for most workers but have a signing bonus that’s bigger than the $5,000 given to workers at General Motors.

It’s also expected to have profit-sharing checks and promises of thousands of new union jobs.

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Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Wednesday that he was finishing his fourth round of chemotherapy in Cuba and expressed optimism that he will not require any further treatment.

Chavez spoke by phone from Havana to hundreds of supporters who gathered at the Riverside Church in New York to pray for his health. Those in the church included Bolivian President Evo Morales and the foreign ministers of Cuba and Argentina.

“Those prayers today have great meaning for me,” Chavez said in the call, which was broadcast on Venezuelan state television. “We’re closing the fourth round of chemotherapy and with the grace of God, this will be sufficient.”

“I’m just about to finish,” Chavez said. “It’s something malignant that’s turning into something benign.”

“I promise you I will live,” he said poor credit personal loans.

He supporters chanted: “Oh, no, Chavez won’t go!”

Chavez underwent surgery in Cuba in June to remove a tumor from his pelvic region. Since then, he has undergone three rounds of chemotherapy, and has said this should be the final phase.

Chavez has said previously that tests have shown no signs of a recurrence.

Venezuelan Vice President Elias Jaua said Wednesday that Chavez’s health was steadily improving.

Chavez “is doing well, better every day,” Jaua said.

(This version CORRECTS that Chavez said he was finishing, instead of finished with, fourtth round of chemotherapy.)

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Retailers just got an early Christmas gift: Americans are expected to spend more than they did last year during the holidays.

Retail sales in November and December are expected to be up 3 percent during what is traditionally the biggest shopping period of the year, according to research firm ShopperTrak said Tuesday.

The sales predication, which matches the outlook from the International Council of Shopping Centers on Friday, would be below last year’s 4.1 percent spike _ and the 5-plus percent gains during boom economic times. But it’s still above the 2.6 percent average gain over the last 10 years and is considered respectable growth given the down economy.

“Clearly, consumers will remain surgical in their spending,” said Bill Martin, ShopperTrak, co-founder. “But the Christmas season should still be quite satisfactory.”

The industry is still waiting for a widely-watched forecast on Oct. 6 from the National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail trade group. But the ShopperTrak and ICSC predictions are the first look at how retailers might fare during the shopping period that can account for up to 40 percent of merchants’ annual revenue. Retailers are worried that many Americans are saddled by concerns about their jobs, the stock market and the overall U.S. economy, which could lead to them cutting back on holiday shopping.

So far, consumers still are spending on necessities, as shown during the critical back-to-school spending, the second-biggest shopping period of the year. However, they’re expected to continue to shop for bargains, a buying habit many picked up during the recession.

Customers also are expected to do more research online before they head to stores _ and browse less when they are in stores. As a result, customer traffic in the store is expected to be down 2.2 percent, according to ShopperTrak, which measures foot traffic in 25,000 stores in the U.S. and blends those figures with economic data.

“Every shopper in a store will be more valuable than last year, and retail stores should be ready to convert their holiday shoppers into sales,” said Martin.

When consumers do head out to the stores for the holidays, the divide that’s been seen this year between luxury purchases and bargain shopping is expected to continue.

ShopperTrak says specialty shops that sell low-end clothing and accessories may feel the need to cut prices to compete with discount chains, but that upscale stores will likely be able to cash in on consumers looking for goods they feel will hold up over long-term use.

The retail analyst expects clothing and accessories sales to rise 2.7 percent over the holidays, but for its traffic to dip 1.1 percent compared with a year ago.

Electronics and appliance sales are expected to rise 1.2 percent from the previous year, but traffic is predicted to fall 4.9 percent. ShopperTrak says the category will likely be hurt as consumers do comparison shopping and then buy online as well as the lack of any “hot” holiday product that will draw in more shoppers. The demise of many of the nation’s consumer electronics chains, such as Circuit City, has also left consumers with fewer places to shop.

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Democrats on a special congressional debt-reduction supercommittee want it to include jobs creation as part of its work, a task that would complicate the newly created panel’s already formidable assignment.

The bipartisan, 12-member committee was scheduled to hold its opening meeting Thursday, a session that was supposed to be limited to opening statements and approval of its rules. The initial meeting was expected to be far less rancorous than this summer’s bitter partisan brawl over extending the federal debt ceiling, which ended with a deal between President Barack Obama and lawmakers that created the supercommittee.

The panel is charged with finding, by Thanksgiving, $1.5 trillion in savings over the next decade, no easy task given the capital’s sharp partisan divisions. Democrats want to produce a mix of spending cuts and revenue increases. Republicans have insisted they would oppose tax increases, though some have indicated they might accept the closing of some tax loopholes.

“Failure is not an option,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Wednesday. He said congressional leaders have appointed serious lawmakers to the panel, “and we fully anticipate they will meet their goals. And we’ll see whether they can even go beyond that.”

Many in Washington, though, are pessimistic that the panel will take a serious bite out of the nation’s enormous $14 trillion in accumulated debt, especially with next year’s elections approaching. They note that Democrats are ardently against cuts in expensive benefits like Medicare while Republicans are adamantly against higher taxes _ the two most plentiful sources of potential budget savings.

“Politically, there’s not a lot of motivation on either side” to produce a major package, said Chris Krueger, a political analyst for the brokerage firm MF Global.

Some Democrats on the supercommittee, though, want it to go even further and address voters’ angst over the nation’s stubborn unemployment problem. With the government reporting that the economy essentially stopped generating jobs last month, next year’s presidential and congressional elections are pressuring lawmakers to do something about it.

“It’s part of recovery,” said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., a supercommittee member who said in a brief interview that he wanted the panel to tackle job creation. “Growth will create revenue,” which would help reduce the debt.

“I’m not saying it will be easy, but it should be addressed,” he said.

Another supercommittee member, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., asked whether he wanted the panel to tackle job creation, said he “may lay out that thought” at Thursday’s meeting.

“I don’t think you can reduce the deficit of the country to the scope that we need to without growth” of the economy, he said.

A third Democrat on the special committee, Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., wrote an opinion essay this week in The Washington Post saying deficit reduction must have three components: jobs, cuts and revenue.

None of the Democrats specified what job creation program they might favor.

Part of that answer might come Thursday evening when Obama delivers an address on jobs to a joint session of Congress. He is expected to propose extending a reduction in the payroll tax that will otherwise expire, giving tax incentives to companies that hire the jobless and boosting spending on public works.

Republicans would be likely to oppose adding spending to the committee’s debt-reduction effort.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., a supercommittee member, said debt reduction would create jobs because reducing the federal debt would help the economy grow.

“Overspending has really spooked the markets and made it more difficult for employers to have confidence to invest and hire people and create jobs,” Camp said in an interview.

Under the debt ceiling agreement, which narrowly averted a potential federal default, Congress must approve at least $1.2 trillion in savings by Christmas. If it doesn’t, the difference would be made up by automatic spending cuts, divided evenly among defense and many domestic programs.

Behind the scenes, the supercommittee’s work has already begun. Republicans and Democrats each held closed-door, daylong strategy sessions on Wednesday. Boehner, R-Ohio, attended part of the GOP meeting, highlighting the importance of the panel’s work.

Democratic aides to the House Ways and Means Committee have produced documents listing possible options for revenue increases and savings from health care programs, including many that were discussed in previous deficit-reduction talks.

The options, which a Ways and Means spokesman said have not been discussed by lawmakers, include various tax increases on the wealthy, oil companies and businesses that transfer some assets overseas, and savings from Medicare, including trimming reimbursements to health care providers and gradually raising the program’s eligibility age to 67 _ which the documents call “a radical departure from current policy.”

Though he has no formal role in the supercommittee’s work, Obama plans to soon give the lawmakers his own debt-reduction plans. White House spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday that the president’s ideas will be “bigger, in fact, than has been mandated for the supercommittee.”

A second public meeting of the committee is set for next Tuesday, when the head of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, Douglas Elmendorf, will explain how the government’s debt got so huge.

The panel has six members each from the House and Senate, evenly divided by party.

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With the snack aisle already full of household names such as Lay’s, Chex Mix and Planters, Howie Sher knew he needed a catchy name for his new product that would help it stand out in the crowd.

So the former Metro East grocer came up with a zinger: “What-A-Ya-Nuts?!”

“I know there’s that emotional pull from the tried and true brands,” said Sher, 43, who recently launched the Clayton-based company. “So if I’m going to create a new brand, I need to grab their attention.”

So far, he has grabbed the attention of Schnucks and Straub’s as well as number of mom-and-pop shops such as Kohn’s Kosher Market in Creve Coeur that have begun carrying his nut cluster snack. His product had a soft launch last month and is now in about 100 locations, mostly in the St. Louis region. .

This week, he’s kicking off a sponsorship with Fox Sports Midwest to have a “What-A-Ya-Nuts Wednesday headlines” on its website, which will feature quirky sports stories. And he’ll be handing out lots of samples at areas stores in the coming weeks.

So what exactly is What-A-Ya-Nuts?

“We’re making like a nut-ola,” he said payday loans. “It’s almost like a granola of nuts.”

What-A-Ya-Nuts are clusters of almonds, pecans and sunflower seeds, with no added preservatives. The suggested retail price is $4.99 for a 4-ounce package.

They come in four flavors that have their own fun and zany names: “jalapeno hysteria,” “maple cinnamon madness,” ’stark raving chocolate” and “cracked Parmesan pepper.”

“We want people to think we’re a little nutty,” Sher said, “because life is too serious.”

Like with any new product, Sher faces some hurdles in getting consumers to make room in their shopping carts for his nuts.

Haim Mano, chair of the University of Missouri-St. Louis’ marketing department, said it can be difficult to get consumers to try a new product from a company with no record.

“If Pringles came up with a new kind of Pringles, it would be easy for them because people know what Pringles is,” he said.

But for these unknown items, companies have to go out of their way to provide samples and freebies