Insurance

Lowe’s Cos. Inc., the second-largest U.S. home improvement retailer, said today that net income and sales dropped in the first quarter as sagging home values crimped demand for remodeling projects, Bloomberg reported. Earnings were unchanged …

Stocks fell this afternoon as the dollar gained ground and commodity prices retreated, CNNMoney.com reported.

All three indexes – the Standard & Poor’s 500, the Nasdaq composite and the Dow Jones industrial average – were …

Rejecting a fundamental stance of congressional Republicans, global investors think the U.S. government won’t be able to substantially cut its budget deficit without raising taxes, Bloomberg reported.

A Bloomberg Global Poll of 1,263 investors, traders …

Global investors have tempered their optimism about the U.S. and world economies and plan to put more of their money in cash and less in commodities during the next six months, a Bloomberg survey found.…

Wall Street conventional wisdom holds that a sterling reputation is crucial to winning business and keeping clients. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. may be the exception, according to a new Bloomberg survey. Fifty-four percent of respondents …

Fort Dodge-based North Central Bancshares Inc., holding company for First Federal Savings Bank of Iowa, announced that its net income for the first quarter was $690,000, compared with $629,000 for the same quarter a year …

Five major mortgage servicers, including Wells Fargo & Co., have proposed paying $5 billion to settle a probe of their foreclosure practices by state and federal officials. The banks made the proposal yesterday during settlement …