Samuel Allen has been elected chairman of the board at Deere & Co. effective at the conclusion of the Feb. 24 annual meeting of stockholders, the company announced today. Allen will also continue as the company’s president and CEO. Allen will replace current chairman Robert Lane. The company will reduce the size of the board of directors to 11 members when Allen assumes the role of chairman. See the release.

Bank of America Corp. plans to return the entire $45 billion in bailout money it received from the federal government over the past year, the company announced late Wednesday. The payback would be made largely through the sale of $18.8 billion of securities that would convert into common stock. The move will allow Bank of America to free itself from the government restrictions that are in place. Read more.

There were 475,00 initial jobless claims filed in the week that ended Nov. 28, which was the lowest number of first-time filers in 15 months, CNNMoney.com reported today. The number was also down 5,000 from the 462,000 initial claims the week prior. Read more.

This year’s Rockin’ Shoppin’ Eve at Jordan Creek Town Center attracted 224,012 customers from midnight to midnight on Black Friday, up 20 percent from the 186,680 people that turned out during the same time period in 2008, according to mall management.