CFOs like financial prospects, fear inflation

Chief financial officers in the Midwest are increasingly optimistic about the economy, but they are wary of inflation, according to a survey by Grant Thornton LLP.    Fifty-seven percent of respondents said their companies plan to …

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Household debt increased in the first quarter

U.S. households increased their debt last quarter by 0.3 percent as mortgage balances showed a “small increase,” the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said today. Consumer indebtedness totaled $11.5 trillion at the end of …

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Roeder returning to Des Moines public schools

Phil Roeder has been hired as director of community relations and legislative liaison for the Des Moines Independent Community School District, Superintendent Nancy Sebring said today in a news release. Roeder served as the district’s …

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Apple has top brand value

Apple Inc. has surpassed search-engine giant Google Inc. as the world’s most valuable brand, according to WPP plc, Bloomberg reported.

Apple’s brand value climbed 84 percent in the past year to $153.3 billion, WPP’s Millward …

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Hertz makes a second offer for Dollar Thrifty

Hertz Global Holdings Inc., the largest publicly traded rental-car company, offered to buy Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. for $2.24 billion in cash and stock, countering a bid by competitor Avis Budget Group Inc.

Hertz …

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Dwolla to present at Finovate

Dwolla Corp., a Des Moines-based online, mobile and social payment platform, has been chosen as one of 63 financial innovations to be highlighted at the 2011 FinovateSpring, to be held Tuesday and Wednesday in San …

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Angry Birds could take an IPO flight

Rovio Mobile Ltd., developer of the “Angry Birds” mobile game, is eyeing an initial public offering in three to four years, its chief marketing officer was quoted as saying today in a Finnish business daily, …

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Homeowners with negative equity still growing

More than 28 percent of U.S. homeowners owed more than their properties were worth in the first quarter, as housing values fell the most since 2008, Zillow Inc. said today. Homeowners with negative equity increased …

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