The Federal Reserve announced yesterday that it approved Wells Fargo & Co.’s $11.7 billion acquisition of Wachovia Corp., removing the last major regulatory hurdle to the deal, the Associated Press reported. Citigroup Inc. walked away from its plans to buy Wachovia last Thursday.

The German government announced today that it has assembled a rescue package worth as much as 500 billion euros, or about $671 billion, to shore up the country’s financial system as part of a coordinated European bailout effort, CNNMoney.com reported. The Finance Ministry said the package foresees up to 400 billion euros, or $536.7 billion, in guarantees for banks, plus up to 100 billion euros, or $134.2 billion, to recapitalize banks and back up the guarantees. The money will go into a newly created “financial market stabilization fund,” and banks will be able to draw on that until the end of 2009.

The Ankeny Fire Department and Ankeny city officials broke ground last week on a new 12,000-square-foot fire station on Oralabor Road, about one-half mile west of Delaware Avenue. When complete, the station will have a fire engine equipped at the paramedic level and will be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The Walnut Creek Family YMCA hosted a dedicated ceremony for its new cycle studio yesterday at 1 p.m., naming it the Dr. Bob Breedlove Cycle Studio. Breedlove was a well-known physician in Des Moines who was killed while riding in the Race Across America in June 2005.

Cargill Inc. today announced net earnings of $1.49 billion for its 2009 first fiscal quarter, which ended Aug. 31. The earnings are up 62 percent from the same period a year ago, when the company reported $917 million in earnings.

USA Today announced Friday that it will raise its newsstand price to $1, an increase of 25 cents, to offset rising newsprint costs. The 33 percent increase could affect the nation’s highest-circulation newspaper more than the price hikes of the other two national newspapers, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, because USA Today is more dependent on single-copy sales. The cost of the Times went up 25 cents in August, and the Journal’s price rose 50 cents in July.

Sauer-Danfoss Inc. announced last Friday that its president and chief executive, David Anderson, will retire Jan. 1. Anderson will remain an adviser to the board of directors and continue to serve as its co-vice chairman through the 2009 shareholders meeting. The company named Sven Ruder as Anderson’s replacement. Ruder, 51, has served as president of the company’s Danfoss A/S motion controls division since 2001 and as a member of the company’s board since July.