Archive for August 2009
Ticker: Aug. 20
A congressional committee is seeking executive pay and other financial information from 52 major health insurance companies, among them Des Moines-based Principal Financial Group Inc. and Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Iowa. U.S. …
Read MoreDeere third-quarter sales down, but exceed forecasts
Deere & Co reported a higher-than-expected profit in its third quarter, which ended July 31, as improved profitability in its core agriculture machinery business helped offset weakness in construction and forestry equipment, Reuters reported. But …
Read MoreMonsanto calls for probe of DuPont’s business practices
In a continuing fight over the use of its herbicide technologies, Monsanto Co. has called for a probe of industry rival E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. for what it described as “deceitful” attacks …
Read MoreTicker: Aug. 19
The Glen Oaks Country Club board of directors was to meet last night to discuss the sale of stock in a new corporation that would assume ownership of the operation. The Business Record was unable …
Read MoreContinued layoffs prompt AGC’s call for quick release of stimulus money
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 1 million construction workers have lost their jobs in the last 12 months, including 76,000 in July, prompting the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) to …
Read MoreUrbandale site work gets under way; council to vote next week
Stacey’s Inc. has announced plans to construct a 17,000-square-foot retail building in Urbandale.
The city’s Planning and Zoning Commission last night recommended that the City Council approve a site plan for the parcel located at …
Dining in Des Moines
July brings surprise slowdown to U.S. housing starts
U.S. builders broke ground on an unexpectedly lower amount of homes in July, marking the first decline in housing starts in three months, Bloomberg reported.
The forecast, which was determined by a Bloomberg News poll …
Ticker: Aug. 18
No Iowa-based companies made Fortune magazine’s 100 Fastest Growing Companies list of 2009. Research in Motion Ltd., the maker of the BlackBerry phone, was ranked as the fastest-growing company by the magazine. Fortune’s lists from …
Read MoreLawyer to leave Downtown Community Alliance
Mary Lawyer, president of the Downtown Community Alliance (DCA), has accepted the position of business development director with Conlon Construction Co. in Dubuque. Lawyer has led the nonprofit affiliate of the Greater Des Moines Partnership …
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