Archive for December 2010
Remembering remarkable Iowans
As another year ends, the Business Record recognizes and honors the members of the Central Iowa business community – and some of the notables who influenced it from the outside – who passed away in …
Iowa banks improve
Iowa’s state-chartered banks showed additional signs of financial vitality in the quarter that ended Sept. 30, with 75 percent of the 313 financial institutions posting a gain in earnings, compared with 38 percent in the …
Will CLASS Act avert elder care insurance crisis?
Many Baby Boomers don’t have to look far to see how long-term care costs can decimate a lifetime of retirement savings.
In some cases, their parents have had to deplete their nest eggs to pay …
Read MorePublic-private partnership helps seniors shield retirement assets
A year ago, the state of Iowa launched an initiative aimed at enabling residents to plan for their long-term care in a way that doesn’t require them to deplete all of their assets to become …
Lovably grotesque
Jan Fleming thinks you should look up more often. When she started to raise her gaze a few years ago, she was delighted to find strange faces looking back at her from buildings all over …
Facebook messaging impact remains to be seen
Is it a Gmail killer? Probably not.
A tool for businesses? Maybe.
A shift in online communication? Definitely.
That’s how local social media experts feel about Facebook Inc.’s new e-mail and messaging platform announced last …
Read MorePublic transit creates a buzz
Planes, trains and automobiles – mainly buses – and even bicycles made headlines in Greater Des Moines in 2010.
Ridership numbers for any mode of transportation don’t, and won’t, tell historians the whole story when …
Read MoreBargain prices, bold developments marked 2010
Greater Des Moines continued to feel the effects of the collapse in real estate markets in 2010. At the same time, some old stories added new chapters.
The sale of Hub Tower at 699 Walnut …
Read MoreConsumer spending could prompt more mergers
U.S. consumers put the brakes on dealmaking in 2010, but may be the accelerator in 2011, according to Bloomberg.
Mergers and acquisitions topped $2 trillion this year, which was the first increase in three years …
Read MoreTax-exempt bonds down, yields up
Tax-exempt municipal bonds are heading to their worst quarterly performance in more than 16 years according to the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Municipal Master index.
The index, which accounts for price changes and interest …
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