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Banking and Finance

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Weathering the storm

With Marta Codina, you can’t avoid the observation that maybe she is one of those people who, like it or not, find themselves in the eye of the storm.

Wrought by human hands or Mother …

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MetaBank profits up 35 percent for fiscal year

Meta Financial Group Inc. reported net income for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 of $44.9 million, or $4.83 per share, a 35 percent increase from $33.2 million, or $3.91 per share, the previous …

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Iowans for Tax Relief names Ingstad president

Iowans for Tax Relief has named Chris Ingstad as its president. Ingstad, who joined the nonprofit taxpayer advocacy group in 2012, has been vice president and policy director since 2015. He previously was vice president …

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Iowa’s Rural Mainstreet Index falls

Creighton University’s Rural Mainstreet Index for Iowa fell to 63.5 in December from 72.1 in November, but remained a regional high.


Anything above 50 is considered growth-positive.


Iowa’s farmland price index for December fell to 49.3 from…
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MetaBank completes acquisition of Texas consumer services company

Sioux Falls, S.D.-based MetaBank has completed its acquisition of substantially all of the assets and specified liabilities of Specialty Consumer Services LP of Hurst, Texas, including the company’s trade name and proprietary underwriting model and …

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Survey: 45 percent of Des Moines millennials worried about outliving retirement savings

Despite a rebound in the U.S. stock market, an increase in hiring and an improvement in home sale prices, many Des Moines millennials are fearful about having enough money in retirement. According to the 2016…
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Iowa receives B+ for adult financial literacy

#NotToBrag, but, Iowa received a B-plus grade on the 2016 National Report Card on Adult Financial Literacy released by Champlain College in Vermont. The grade placed it among just four states receiving a B-plus grade. No state …

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Iowa Business Council names Van Gundy as executive director

The Iowa Business Council has named former Principal Financial Group executive Georgia Van Gundy as executive director effective Jan. 3.


She replaces Elliott Smith, who resigned in November. Van Gundy worked as assistant vice president…
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Iowa Leading Indicators up slightly in October

The Iowa Leading Indicators Index increased to 105.6 in October from 105.4 in September. The monthly diffusion index increased in October to 62.5 from 56.3 in September. With another increase in October, Iowa’s nonfarm employment …

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Fertilizer plant bonds are ‘junk,’ ratings service says

One of these days, Iowa Fertilizer Co. LLC will produce 1.5 million to 2 million metric tons of fertilizer products a year, and it could use that cash flow to help offset some significant financing…