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Insurance

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Buyers lining up for Aviva USA, according to newspaper report

Aviva PLC has been approached by two unsolicited suitors who want to buy its United States operations, which are based in West Des Moines, according to Britain’s Sunday Telegraph, Reuters reported.

Aviva, Britain’s second largest …

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Principal Financial Group profits down in second quarter

Principal Financial Group Inc. reported second-quarter earnings of $216.3 million, down from $229 million a year earlier. The company was hurt by lower operating earnings from its retirement and investor services segment, Reuters reported. 

Second-quarter net income fell …

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West Bank reports increase in net income

West Bancorporation Inc., parent company of West Bank, reported a net income of $8.36 million, or 48 cents per share, for the first half of 2012, up from a year ago, when it stood at $6.07 …

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BERKO: Passive fund management gives superior results

Dear Mr. Berko:

I’m a teacher with a pension plan, and my contributions are invested in mutual funds I don’t know a darn thing about. Nobody will give us any investment help, so 15 years …

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BERKO: TIAA-CREF’s warm image doesn’t match customer service reputation

Dear Mr. Berko:

TIAA-CREF is impossible to deal with. For the second year in a row, I have made the really simple request that they mail me my tax reporting forms. But if I want …

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BERKO: Cash buyout good choice for GM retiree

Dear Mr. Berko:

I currently get $5,480 in monthly retirement income from General Motors, and when I go to the great beyond, my wife will get $2,740 a month for as long as she lives. …

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Consumers have considered switching banks

Some U.S. consumers have considered switching financial institutions in the last year due to increased fees for routine services, according to a new report from Consumer Reports. 

About 20 percent of people said they had …

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House to question regulators over Peregrine

Regulators from the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the National Futures Association will face questions from the U.S. House of Representatives today on how fraud went unnoticed at Peregrine Financial Group Inc. in Cedar …

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Moody’s downgrades Germany

The European debt crisis has caused Moody’s Investors Service Inc. to downgrade the credit rating of Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. 

Moody’s downgraded the three countries from Aaa stable to Aaa negative. A full downgrade …

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More people living paycheck-to-paycheck

Consumer Federation of America and the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards released a report yesterday showing that more Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck. 


The study found that 38 percent of people are struggling to make …