April 21, 2008      

GOOD DAY!                

This is MONDAYMEMO, the weekly report from the RCGA President to Board members and other key investors. MONDAYMEMO is published by the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association, One Metropolitan Square, Suite 1300, St. Louis, MO 63102. To unsubscribe or change your address or method of delivery, reply to mondaymemo@stlrcga.org.

St. Louis Region Sustains Strong #5 Position In Fortune Magazine's Rankings Of HQ Locations:  The St. Louis region continues to be a leading center for corporate headquarters. Fortune Magazine's just-released annual ranking of the nation's top companies by revenue, published in today’s issue, includes 9 Fortune 500 firms in the St. Louis region (same as 2007) and a total of 21 in the Fortune 1000 (up one from 2007).  These totals include Smurfit-Stone Container Corp., which maintains dual corporate headquarters in both St. Louis and Chicago, but whose CEO and top officers are located here.

The total of 9 Fortune 500 firms brings St. Louis and Atlanta to a tie for 5th place among the regions with 5 or more Fortune 500 headquarters.

Fortune’s 2008 data place St. Louis ahead of Charlotte; Cincinnati; Cleveland; Columbus; Milwaukee; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; San Antonio; San Francisco; and Seattle.

Over the last several years, it's been common in some quarters to lament "the decline of Fortune headquarters in the region."  And there's some truth to that, as the St. Louis region was home to 10 Fortune 500 headquarters in 1995, just 1 more than now.  But the focus on names of the past, such as TWA and McDonnell Douglas, obscures the future of the region, which is represented by additional Fortune HQ companies like Centene and Express Scripts.  Express Scripts broke into the ranks of the Fortune 500 in 2000, and is now 135th on the list.  Centene moved into the Fortune 1000 in 2006.

In fact, the number of Fortune 1000 headquarters in the region actually rose this year, from 20 to 21. While Kellwood Corp. came off the Fortune 1000 list this year, Belden and MEMC Electronic Materials were added, ranking #884 and #913 respectively.

St. Louis Fortune 500 Companies in 2008:

• EMERSON (111)
• EXPRESS SCRIPTS (135)
• ANHEUSER-BUSCH (149)
• MONSANTO (305)
• AMEREN (329)
• SMURFIT-STONE  CONTAINER (334)
• CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS (409)
• PEABODY ENERGY (432)
• GRAYBAR ELECTRIC (455)

Rounding out the remainder of the St. Louis region’s Fortune 1000 are:

• Solutia (593)
• Energizer Holdings (617)
• Olin Corp. (649)
• Centene Corp. (685)
• Arch Coal (790)
• Brown Shoe Co. (799)
• Ralcorp Holdings (830)
• Furniture Brands International (854)
• Sigma Aldrich (882)
• Belden (884)
• Laclede Group (892); and
• MEMC Electronic Materials (913)

"Save The Dates": RCGA Leadership Trip To Chicago To Be Held September 21st Through 23rd:  Following on to the RCGA 2007 Leadership Trip to Minneapolis/Saint Paul last Fall, RCGA Chairman Bob Reynolds has announced that our next Leadership Trip will be on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, September 21st, 22nd and 23rd – to Chicago, with an optional advance day on Saturday, September 20th.

The poet Carl Sandburg called Chicago the ‘City of Big Shoulders’.  This global city needs them, because it hoists a world - a world of ethnic and religious diversity, world-class educational institutions and shopping, plus commerce and industry.  All are enveloped within incomparable architecture.  Most cities pale in comparison to this urban enclave, whose stunning skyline erupts from the western shores of Lake Michigan.  With a population of 9.5 million in the states of Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, Chicago is considered one of the most remarkable metropolitan areas in the world. 

Chicago skyline with view of Lake Shore Drive

Cloud Gate in Millennium Park in Chicago

This year we will offer a special, optional package at an additional cost.  Saturday, September 20th at noon, we have reserved several of the Wrigley Field area rooftop spaces that include tickets, beverages, and food to watch the Cardinals vs. Cubs game that Saturday afternoon.  A companion package of Saturday options will include Chicago’s unprecedented arts and cultural institutions (further details forthcoming).  We will also plan a Saturday evening fun dinner.

The Chicago region has long been a model for best practices in regional planning and metropolitan governance, and while we sometimes compete with The Windy City in sports and in economic development, more often than not we are increasingly functioning with Chicago as a mega-region.

This is the RCGA's 11th Leadership Trip; previous Leadership Trips were to Cleveland, Seattle, Baltimore, Denver, Toronto, Boston, San Diego, St. Louis, Atlanta, and Minneapolis/Saint Paul.

During our 3-day "best practices visit", St. Louis delegates will meet with a wide variety of Chicago’s leaders.  Our Leadership Trips have provided a wonderful opportunity for our diverse regional leadership to focus on important issues to our metro area, strengthen existing relationships, and forge new ones.

encourage participants to sign up early, as the Trip has typically sold out.  To reserve your place for the RCGA Leadership Trip to Chicago, or for more information, please contact RCGA Vice President for Membership Services Colin Stahlhut at (314) 444-1145, or email him at cstahlhut@stlrcga.org.

Missouri House Passes Strong Economic Development Bill, RCGA Urges Senate Support:  The Missouri House of Representatives demonstrated strong support for enhancing the State's economic development tools by passing HB 2058, sponsored by Rep. David Pearce (R-Warrensburg).  The bill includes several key provisions that will improve Missouri's competitiveness in attracting and retaining businesses, most importantly the elimination of the cap on the Missouri Quality Jobs program – the State's most successful job creation incentive.

A recent economic impact analysis by the Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED) determined that the Quality Jobs tax credit returns $5.63 in new State revenue for each dollar invested, and has generated some $2.5 billion in new investment in less than 3 years.  The annual tax credit cap for the Enhanced Enterprise Zone program would also increase to $24 million from $14 million under the bill.  This program returns $4.96 for every dollar invested, and has created jobs and investment in nearly 50 cities across Missouri. The growing success of both programs has caused their respective tax credit limits to be reached.

House Bill 2058 would also establish a $5 million Angel Tax Credit, a key component of the RCGA's and our statewide partners’ "Grow Me State" Initiative.This tax credit would stimulate private investment in advanced technology start-up companies and help close the State's capital formation cap.  Missouri currently spends only 10 cents per capita on venture capital programs, compared $2.79 invested by neighboring states.

In these uncertain economic times, immediate action is needed to expand the Quality Jobs and Enhanced Enterprise Zone programs and to create a new Angel Tax Credit program.  Missouri's future economic well-being depends on positive action this year on economic development legislation.

Richard C.D. Fleming
President and CEO


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