Government Policy and Law

The U.S. Treasury Department said today that it plans to wind down its $142 billion portfolio of mortgage bonds guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by selling as much as $10 billion of the …

Consumer confidence plunged last week to the lowest level since August as rising gasoline prices made Americans more pessimistic about the economic outlook and their finances, Bloomberg reported.

The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index dropped to …

Moline, Ill.-based Deere & Co., the world’s largest maker of agricultural equipment, on Wednesday was accused in an amended lawsuit of systematically discriminating against women seeking entry-level positions, Bloomberg reported. Holly Artis, who sued last …

Fewer Americans filed first-time claims for unemployment insurance payments last week, Bloomberg News reported, marking the third decrease in the past four weeks and indicating progress in the labor market.

The Department of Labor reported …

Gov. Terry Branstad will hold a news conference at 4 p.m. today to announce a newly established partnership between the state of Iowa and the Republic of Kosovo. Avni Spahiu, Kosovo’s ambassador to the United …

Three senior executives at an Akron, Ohio-based consumer finance company face civil and criminal charges for orchestrating a scheme that defrauded at least 5,200 investors — many of them elderly — out of $230 million, …

Attorney General Tom Miller reminded Iowans to be careful about scam artists taking advantage of generous Iowans who plan to donate to earthquake and tsunami relief efforts in Japan. Miller recommended that Iowans donate to …

The Film Alliance of Iowa has declared Tuesday as “Film Advocacy Day” and has asked Gov. Terry Branstad to reopen and staff the Iowa Film Office. The alliance is made up of representatives from the …

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad has appointed John Telleen as a district judge in the 7th Judicial District. Telleen, 52, received his law degree from the University of Iowa. He practices law with Lane & Waterman …

We share some of the concerns of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (CCI) about what might lie ahead for our state’s Environmental Protection Commission.

In appointing four members to that body, Gov. Terry Branstad made …