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BERKO: Double your money? These stocks might do it


Dear Mr. Berko:

I have a little more than $12,000, and I would like to speculate with it and buy one or two stocks that trade below $10 a share. Please recommend a few low-price …

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BERKO: Best Buy isn’t the best stock to buy


Dear Mr. Berko:

I bought 100 shares of Best Buy in the beginning of 2011 at $32, and now it’s $26. Please tell me what you think its prospects are for this year and next. …

13699

BERKO: Sweeping our problems under a large rug


Dear Mr. Berko:

What is your opinion about reducing the payroll tax to stimulate the economy? Is this a stroke of brilliance on the part of the administration to put more spendable money in the …

13701

A Closer Look: Nicole Molt


Are you from Iowa originally?

Absolutely. I’m originally from a small town called Blockton. Most people have never heard of it; it’s in Taylor County in southwest Iowa, south of Highway 2. I went to …

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More investors drop efforts to force Clive brokerage into arbitration over bad deals

Investors who say they lost $2 million in a deal promoted by DeWaay Financial Network LLC have dropped efforts to force the Clive company into arbitration to collect the funds, according to a document filed …

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North Central Bancshares pays back TARP

North Central Bancshares Inc., holding company for First Federal Savings Bank of Iowa, announced that it has completed the repurchase warrant to purchase the company’s common stock held by the U.S. Department of the Treasury …

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Raymond James to buy Morgan Keegan

Raymond James Financial Inc. has agreed to buy Morgan Keegan & Co. from Regions Financial Corp. for $930 million, Bloomberg reported.

Morgan Keegan will also pay a $250 million dividend to Regions before the deal …

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Credit union servicers form strategic alliance

The Members Group (TMG), a Clive-based credit union payment services company, has entered into a strategic partnership with a large California-based credit union servicer it formerly competed with.

The companies say the collaboration will enable …

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European banks turn to cash-rich companies for help

Blue-chip names such as Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer Inc. and Peugeot are among the firms bailing out Europe’s ailing banks in a reversal of the established roles of clients and lenders, Reuters reported.

One source …

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Slow profit growth last year for U.S. companies

U.S. corporations ended 2011 with the slowest profit growth in two years, Bloomberg reported. Standard & Poor’s 500 index companies may have earned $24.74 a share in the fourth quarter, according to analysts’ estimates compiled …