David Nicklaus, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

04/15/2024

The newly opened Gates Ag One headquarters is a big win for St. Louis as the region emerges as a leading center for agribusiness and ag research.

On average, a small farmer in Africa produces just one-fifth as much output per acre as his North American counterpart.

04/03/2023

Shares of Missouri's UMB are down 25% since SVB failed. Its CEO blames a contagion story he says is "mistold, misunderstood and misdirected."

In Missouri, UMB Financial has long been viewed as a bastion of conservative banking. That's why it was shocking to see how much investors punished the Kansas City institution, which

03/23/2023

Moving a startup from San Diego to St. Louis is unusual enough. When Agragene made the move, it had to transport hundreds of thousands of fruit flies in a rental van.

Stephanie Gamez and her husband moved from San Diego to St. Louis with a few household goods, two cats and hundreds of thousands of fruit flies.

03/08/2023

Frank Trotter started an online bank in the pre-smartphone era. The market's more crowded now, but he sees plenty of room for his new startup, Battle Bank.

Virtual banking is no longer the novelty it was in 1998, but St Louis' Frank Trotter thinks there's still room for innovation.

02/19/2023

Shaun Hayes was the boy wonder of banking -- until he went to prison for bank fraud. Now he's written about the choices that took him there.

If Shaun Hayes’ rise in the banking world was meteoric, his fall was even more so.

02/16/2023

After 9 years and 350+ episodes, Jim & I have hoisted our last expense-account beers. We reflect on the decline of newspapers and the rise of St. Louis as an entrepreneurial -- and craft beer -- hub.

Saying goodbye: After nine years and more than 350 episodes, the video series featuring David Nicklaus and Jim Gallagher is ending. The veteran journalists reflect on the state of local

02/11/2023

Jim & I agree that banning non-competes would be good for workers and for the economy.



Latest : Jim & I agree that banning non-competes would be good for workers and the economy.

Legal handcuffs: A federal agency wants to ban noncompete agreements, which prevent an estimated 20% of workers from jumping to a competitor. Jim Gallagher and David Nicklaus applaud the proposal,

02/06/2023

Joe Fischer designed a gift box as a class project and turned it into a startup that raised $2.5m from investors. Now he's sold Greetabl to a fellow Missouri entrepreneur.

Joe Fischer’s entrepreneurial journey began with an empty cereal box and grew into Greetabl, an e-commerce business with more than $5 million in revenue.

02/01/2023

The personal property tax is very unpopular right now, largely because of soaring used car prices, but it's an important funding source for Missouri school districts.

Tax on cars: As used car prices soared last year, so did Missourians' personal property tax bills. Some legislators want to abolish the tax, but David Nicklaus and Jim Gallagher

01/31/2023

It's no accident that Silicon Valley's innovation culture arose in a state that doesn't enforce non-competes.

One St. Louisan says his boss put him through 9 months of misery to make a point to other employees

01/26/2023

Jim & I discuss the implications of a ruling that may bring earnings tax refunds for 100,000 St. Louis workers.

Refund suit: A judge has ruled that St. Louis improperly refused earnings tax refunds to six people who worked from homes outside the city. Jim Gallagher and David Nicklaus say

01/23/2023

Jerry Cox's motto was "Work Hard, Be Kind." His hard work gave the world a wealth of technologies that we take for granted today.

We wouldn't have PCs, modern networks or PET scans without the work he did

12/20/2022

Greater St. Louis has accomplished a lot in 2 years, which makes it a credible voice on issues like the Rams settlement.

Greater St. Louis helped secure $25 million grant and recruit employers totaling 1,000 jobs

12/12/2022

InfraLytiks co-founder came to St. Louis for a $100,000 accelerator grant. He stayed because of the connections he made.

InfraLytiks co-founder came for accelerator program, decided to stay and grow the business here

12/08/2022

The number of jobs at stake isn't huge, but Emerson's HQ decision will be a bellwether for whether St. Louis is making progress or not.

Will Emerson leave? Emerson, after a big asset sale, is deciding where its headquarters will be. David Nicklaus and Jim Gallagher explain what will go into the decision and how

11/28/2022

Economists increasingly think we'll be in recession next year, but it shouldn't be anything like 2008.

One forecaster sees unemployment hitting 5.7% next year

11/21/2022

Alex Quinn founded smart-TV startup Disruptel at 18. At 23, he's achieved an exit that brings his technology closer to market.

23-year-old founder Quinn will lead an artificial intelligence team for Samba TV

11/14/2022

If guaranteed income policies are going to work on a large, sustainable scale, it will have to be at the state or federal level. Cities such as St. Louis don't have the resources

St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones' proposed $5 million program won't put much of a dent in city's poverty rate

10/31/2022

If Edward Jones had applied sooner, it might be operating a bank by now. Instead, it recently acknowledged political reality by withdrawing its application.

Brokerage firm withdraws its FDIC application, saying approval is unlikely

08/11/2022

Timely debate in our latest The Bottom Line: Jim thinks we're headed into a recession, but I argue that we're not. "If there's this much demand for labor, it's no recession."

Downturn debate: Jim Gallagher is pretty sure the economy is headed into recession, but David Nicklaus thinks we'll avoid one as long as the job market remains strong.

08/08/2022

"This area has a good system for getting companies going." CoverCress is STL's 2nd prominent ag-tech exit in past year.

St. Louis investors who backed idea of a new crop are 'very happy'

06/23/2022

Jim thinks the Fed's rate increases will cause a recession; I see a chance for a soft landing. New https://www.stltoday.com/business/columns/david-nicklaus/the-bottom-line-whats-the-cost-of-taming-inflation/video_672c8db8-725f-536f-848f-18d98a1ac7a7.html

06/23/2022

I asked 3 St. Louis investment pros about the bear market and found one optimist, one pessimist and one opportunist.

With stocks down more than 20%, investment pros see both opportunity and danger.

05/31/2022

With a beefed-up executive suite and $100k from
Arch Grants, Tcare is poised for growth. It expects to add 40 people in the next few months.

St. Louis firm combines artificial intelligence and social workers to help family caregivers

05/06/2022

Musk says he doesn't care if he makes a profit on Twitter, but the banks backing his deal most certainly do care.

Debt poses a big risk in Musk's deal for Twitter

05/04/2022

Sustainable investing is growing by leaps and bounds, but it's a sometimes ill-defined space. Larry Swedroe's new book helps investors avoid the pitfalls.

St. Louisan's book is for investors who want to do well while doing good.

04/13/2022

As Missouri debates legalizing recreational ma*****na, Jim makes the industry's case for limiting licenses. I argue for a free-market approach.

CANNABIS QUESTION: As Missouri considers whether to legalize recreational ma*****na, Jim Gallagher and David Nicklaus debate how it should be done. Gallagher makes the case for limiting the number of

03/30/2022

In our latest Bottom Line video, Jim & I discuss the transformation of St. Louis' newspaper row into a tech district.
https://www.stltoday.com/business/columns/david-nicklaus/the-bottom-line-north-edge-of-downtown-begins-to-realize-its-potential/video_d8e8379b-c86f-516d-8c56-f2b205479673.html -source=home-top-story

TECH DISTRICT: The northwest edge of downtown used to be an underdeveloped wasteland. Now, with Square occupying the old Post-Dispatch building and other technology firms leasing space in the Globe

01/25/2022

+32,300 jobs would be a great year for St. Louis in most contexts, but not after the even larger job loss in 2020.

Metro area remains 48,000 jobs short of pre-pandemic employment level