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Ticker: Nov. 17

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Higher food and energy costs resulted in a 0.3 percent seasonally adjusted increase in wholesale prices in October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said today. The cost of processed or finished foods increased 1.6 percent, as did the cost of processed energy items such as gasoline. Core wholesale costs, which exclude food and energy, fell 0.6 percent, the most in three years, the BLS said. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch predicted larger increases in all wholesale prices as well as prices minus food and energy. A government report Wednesday will show what prices consumers are paying at the retail level.

ING U.S. Retirement Services, a unit of ING Insurance Americas, announced that it recently formed a new business development team dedicated to serving employer-sponsored higher education retirement plans across the country and identifying new growth opportunities for this segment of the 403(b) defined contribution market. The creation of the new team “underscores ING’s commitment to academic professionals as they prepare for retirement,” the company said, and “leverages our leadership in helping school administrators navigate the new regulations governing plans under section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code.”

Wellmark Health Plan of Iowa has been ranked among the top 100 health insurance plans in the United States in a listing published jointly by U.S. News & World Report and the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). Wellmark’s plan was ranked 63rd out of 239 plans that were reviewed in the magazine’s “America’s Best Health Insurance Plans 2009-10” that will appear in December. The rankings are based on measures of clinical quality, member satisfaction and NCQA accreditation scores. Recently, for the ninth consecutive year, Wellmark Health Plan of Iowa earned the NCQA’s highest rating, an “Excellent” accreditation, based on its Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set scores and member satisfaction scores.

SmartyPig LLC, a West Des Moines-based company that operates an online savings program (www.smartypig.com), announced it will double the maximum “cash boost” it offers to customers to 12 percent of the amount saved during the holiday shopping season. “The holidays can put a financial strain on anybody, and using credit cards for purchases only adds to the debt hangover,” said Bob Weinschenk, CEO of SmartyPig. According to the Consumer Reports Holiday Shopping Poll, 6 percent of Americans, or 13.5 million people, continue to carry debt from last winter’s holiday season. To receive the “cash boost,” SmartyPig customers must use their savings to purchase gift cards from participating retailers SmartyPig’s U.S. banking partner is West Des Moines-based West Bancorporation Inc.

More families in Polk County are seeking emergency and transitional shelter for the first time, say directors of Greater Des Moines homeless shelters. According to data recently released by the Iowa Institute for Community Alliances, fewer than 9 percent of those served by homeless and supportive service providers in Polk County in 2008 were served in 2007. Data also indicates that 42 percent of the individuals and 52 percent of family members identified as homeless in 2008 were in that situation for the first time. Additionally, the use of local food pantries is up nearly 60 percent. Shelter leaders will hold a press conference tomorrow at Hawthorn Hill to outline challenges and new programs to address homelessness.

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