Unemployment claims drop to 400,000 last week

The number of Americans making new claims for unemployment benefits dropped last week to a level that shows limited improvement in the labor market, Bloomberg reported.

Applications decreased by 1,000 in the week ended July …

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Largest U.S. automaker nearly doubles profit

General Motors Co.’s (GM) quarterly profit nearly doubled, beating expectations, as the top U.S. automaker took a larger share of sales globally and raised prices on its vehicles, Reuters reported.

Coming out of bankruptcy, GM …

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World stock index struggling amid uncertainty

A measure of global equities has fallen 10 percent from this year’s high in May, as concern grows that the economic recovery is faltering, Bloomberg reported.

The MSCI All-Country World Index of stocks in developed …

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Iowa DOT will receive funds to improve safety

Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin announced that the Iowa Department of Transportation will receive $500,000 to improve highway safety programs.

The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which …

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American Equity improves on income from a year ago

American Equity Investment Life Holding Co. reported second-quarter net income of $18.27 million, compared with a net loss of $1.5 million the previous year.

The company reported operating income of $29.01 million, down from $29.2 …

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Girl Scouts director to switch chapters

Karen Grode, CEO of Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa, will leave her position in August to move to another Girl Scouts council in the Kansas City area.

The organization will have a farewell reception for …

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Pioneer donates to symphony

Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. has donated $20,000 to the Des Moines Symphony, the symphony announced yesterday.

The donation was made through the Pioneer Challenge, a dollar-for-dollar matching grant, as part of the symphony’s 2010-11 fund-raising …

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