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Insurance

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Principal exec to discuss ‘journey’

On Nov. 9, the Des Moines Downtown Chamber of Commerce will hold its final installment this year of The Journey series.

Journalist Michael Gartner will interview senior vice president and chief marketing officer of  Principal …

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Bets on European debt lead MF Global to bankruptcy

MF Global Holdings Ltd., the holding company for the broker-dealer run by former New Jersey governor and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. co-chairman Jon Corzine, filed for bankruptcy protection after making bets on European sovereign debt, …

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Bonds find a sweet spot

The biggest bond gains in almost a decade have pushed returns on Treasuries above stocks for the first time since before the Civil War, Bloomberg reported.

Fixed-income investments advanced 6.25 percent this year, almost triple …

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Occupying a brand

Occupy Wall Street’s organizers have applied to trademark their movement’s name, CNNMoney.com reported. In an application dated Oct. 24, the unincorporated association “Occupy Wall Street” applied for the trademark to “Occupy Wall Street.” The trademark …

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U.S. companies topping analysts’ estimates

American companies are beating Wall Street profit estimates for the 11th straight quarter, enough to revive a bull market that analysts say will eclipse any rally in the past 12 years, Bloomberg reported.

A total …

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Stop those trades, New York Fed tells futures broker

MF Global Holdings Ltd., the futures broker run by former New Jersey governor and U.S. senator Jon Corzine, was suspended from conducting new business with the New York Federal Reserve Bank today after posting a …

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If you really believe the market has hit bottom …


Dear Mr. Berko:

Our broker and his firm are positive that the market has reached bottom and are very bullish about the next few years. We have a $107,000 CD coming due, and our broker …

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Will natural gas ever beat out Big Oil?


Dear Mr. Berko:

I’m told by a real smart friend who reads lots of books that natural gas is cheaper than oil and that we have more natural gas than Saudi Arabia has oil. He …

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Don’t pester your way out of the will


Dear Mr. Berko:

I need your opinion on my dad’s investments. He uses well-known brokerage firm Merrill Lynch and has around $1.3 million invested. The bulk of his money is in municipal bonds of all …

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Finding value in the weeds


Eric Lohmeier and Leo Skeffington spend a good bit of time in the weeds – the overgrown fields of bad debt that have accumulated since the financial collapse of 2008 and 2009.

Lohmeier is the …