August 3, 1999 - The St. Paul Companies is cutting another one thousand jobs. The St. Paul based insurer says the move will lower expenses by 100 million dollars next year. The announcement comes a week after the company reported a sharp increase in second quarter profits. Officials say the job reductions will boost profits further.
July 13, 1999 - Mayor Norm Coleman says the loss of hundreds of St. Paul company jobs hurts, but he also says the cuts come while the city is on the upswing. The St. Paul companies announced yesterday it will cut 500 to 600 jobs as a result of selling its home and automobile insurance businesses to MetLife of Rhode Island. The deal also may jeopardize an additional 530 Minnesota jobs which are being transferred to MetLife Auto and Home.
July 9, 1999 - The US Justice department has approved Cargill's purchase of arch rival Continental Grain Company's grain business. To win that approval Cargill agreed to sell grain handling facilities in 9 cities. The Justice department says the requirements are designed to prevent the combined companies from artificially lowering prices paid to farmers. Critics have said the acquisition would give Cargill too much power in the market.
July 1, 1999 - Reports in the British press say Twin Cities based Control Data Systems is being sold to British Telecommunications, Britain's largest telephone company. There has been no official confirmation of the buyout. But an announcement is expected at a news conference scheduled for this afternoon in Minneapolis . Control Data Systems is the smaller of two companies resulting from the split of the original Control Data corporation in 1992. The old firm was a world leader in the manufacture of mainframe computers and was central to Minnesota's evolution as a center of high technology.
June 29, 1999 - Analysts say Wells Fargo's decision to cut one thousand Norwest teller positions will not have much affect on service. They say it reflects the challenge banks face in cutting costs even as they juggle customer demand for both teller service and electronic banking.
June 24, 1999 - Medtronic held a ground breaking ceremony today for the medical technology company's new 250 million dollar world headquarters in Fridley. The 42 acre campus will house facilities involved in research and development, education, and the headquarters for the company's neurological business.
June 22, 1999 - As Minnesota logs month after month of historically low unemployment, the jobless rate in the twin cities hovers at even lower levels. The metropolitan area has consistently posted the lowest unemployment rate among major cities since August of 1997. Last month it was just one-point-six percent. As Bill Catlin reports, the low unemployment rate is changing the balance of power between companies and workers.
June 17, 1999 - Honeywell CEO Michael Bonsignore says he does not think it would have been possible to keep the company headquarters in Minnesota in the pending merger with AlliedSignal. In an interview with Minnesota Public Radio Bonsignore also says it would be out of the question to sell the company's largest division, which will remain headquartered in the twin cities.
June 14, 1999 - Honeywell's takeover by Allied Signal ... announced a week ago, brought to 5 the number of major corporate headquarters Minnesota has lost in the last year and a half. So, who's next? Speculation has buzzed around several local firms, but it's anybody's guess who will be next. As Minnesotasota Public Radio's Bill Catlin reports, the forces driving takeovers are unrelenting.
June 14, 1999 - A campaign oversight panel says the company selling Jesse Ventura merchandise will be allowed to operate as a private corporation instead of a political committee. The company, "Ventura For Minnesota Incorporated" has said the money will be used to fund charitable activities and constituent services for the governor. The board's ruling means V-M-I won't have to report what it earns or how it spends the money, which political committees must do.