Business briefing: Business expo coming to metro-east

Metro-east area businesses and professionals now have a business expo of their own.

St. Louis Small Business Monthly and the Midwest Business Institute have partnered to create the Southwestern Illinois Business Expo, following the model and the success of the St. Louis Small Business Expo. The metro-east business expo is a free event that will provide local business owners and managers the chance to network and learn from national experts. The expo will be held Aug. 12 at the Gateway Center in Collinsville.

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Americans spent their money more cautiously last month, although recent strong job growth has been recorded in the past year. The Commerce Department reported a 0.3 percent drop in retail sales in June, following a 1 percent increase in May. Read more here.

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Nokia is making a comeback. The former Finnish cellphone company has announced plans to return and is searching for a partner to manufacture, market and sell the devices. Learn more here.

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Johnson & Johnson has posted a 4 percent gain in second-quarter profit, despite declining sales in each of its three business segments. The company has steadily recovered after rounds of recent recalls that kept its products off store shelves. Find out more here.

-Will Buss, BND business writer

This story was originally published July 14, 2015 at 9:21 AM with the headline "Business briefing: Business expo coming to metro-east."