Archive for August 2008

Living History Farms has closed the sale of about 40 acres of land to a developer planning to build a commercial and retail center.

S&S Heritage Park LLC paid nearly $7.2 million for the property, …

First Federal Bankshares Inc., the parent company of Vantus Bank, reported a net loss of $854,000, or 26 cents per share, for the three months ended June 30. This loss excludes a non-cash goodwill impairment …

The ripple effects of the stimulus checks have ceased and retail sales have declined, meeting economists’ expectations that this was bound to happen, CNNMoney.com reported.

“The consumer is running out of steam,” wrote Nigel Gault, …

Moline, Ill.-based Deere & Co., the world’s largest maker of farm equipment, reported lower-than-expected profits in the latest quarter and said raw material costs would hurt profits in the fourth quarter, Bloomberg.com reported.

Net profits …

The Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) of Des Moines reported that its net income for the second quarter rose 107 percent to $47.9 million, compared with $23.1 million for the same period in 2007. The …

Most U.S. and foreign corporations don’t pay federal income tax, according to a study by the Government Accountability Office, which analyzed data from the Internal Revenue Service from 1998 to 2005, MSNBC reported.

According to …

Financial companies continued their wave of bad news with announcements of further write-downs and disappointing quarterly results.

In a regulatory filing late yesterday, JPMorgan Chase & Co. said it will write down the value of …

The decades of innovation and expansion are soon to be a thing of the past, if they aren’t already, Wells Fargo Co. Senior Economist Eugenio Aleman said in the San Francisco Business Times, and it’s …

Even though oil prices increased $2 overnight as the conflict between Russia and Georgia heightened, gas prices dropped for the 25th consecutive day, falling more than 7 percent from their July 16 record high of …

Holmes Murphy & Associates Inc. announced today that Jason Hellickson, shareholder and executive vice president, will join the firm’s corporate headquarters in Des Moines, assuming broader leadership responsibilities within the company. His new responsibilities include …