Retail and Business

Manufacturing in the New York region unexpectedly contracted in August for a third straight month as orders dropped and managers became less optimistic about the future, signaling that the industry that has led the economic …

Lowe’s Cos., the second-largest U.S. home-improvement retailer, said profit in its fiscal 2011 will be less than it previously projected as sales drop at stores open more than a year. Per-share profits in the year …

A memorial service is planned for 5 p.m. Saturday for business and civic leader Monroe Colston, who passed away on Tuesday.

The service will be held at Valley Evangelical Free Church, 4343 Fuller Road, West …

Rock Island, Ill.-based KJWW Engineering Consultants announced that it will open an office in Kansas City. KJWW already operates out of seven Midwestern offices, including Des Moines. It also maintains offices in Dubai in the …

Hy-Vee Inc. CEO Ric Jurgens, who will co-chair the Healthiest State initiative announced Wednesday by Gov. Terry Branstad, said he took himself out of consideration for the chairmanship of the Greater Des Moines Partnership when …

The $9.4 trillion U.S. government bond market is proving Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke matters more than Standard & Poor’s, according to a Bloomberg analysis.

Even though the United States is poised to run a …

The chances of another U.S. recession are rising, Reuters reported, according to the news organization’s latest poll.

The survey of more than 200 economists, published four years to the day after credit markets first started …

U.S. stocks staged the largest rally of the year this morning, rebounding from a rout that wiped out $1 trillion yesterday, and Treasuries fell amid speculation that the Federal Reserve may signal plans to safeguard …

HNI Corp. today declared a quarterly dividend of 23 cents per share on its common stock. The dividend will be payable on Sept. 1 to shareholders of record at the close of business on Aug. …

The productivity of U.S. workers in April through June dropped for the second consecutive quarter, pushing labor costs up from 2010’s record low, Bloomberg reported.

The measure of employee output per hour decreased at a …