Nominations must be submitted by March 29 for two awards that will be presented by the Central Iowa chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO-CI) during its 2010 Women Mean Business Summit on May 26. Nominations can be self-submitted for the organization’s Aspiring Woman Business Owner Award and WBO/Member of the Year Award. The Aspiring Woman Business Owner Award will be given to an emerging entrepreneur who has opened her business in Central Iowa and has been active in the programs of the Women’s Enterprise Center of the Institute for Social and Economic Development. The WBO/NAWBO-CI Member of the Year Award will be given to a chapter member whose ongoing leadership, commitment and service contributions have supported the chapter and women business ownership in the community. Nomination information can be found at www.womenmeanbusiness.biz. Connie Wimer, chair of Business Publications LLC, will receive the organization’s inaugural Spirit Award.

A CareerBuilder survey suggests that a tighter job market may be contributing to increased punctuality at work. In the survey, 16 percent of workers said they arrive late to work at least once a week, down from 20 percent in last year’s survey. One in 10 said they are late at least twice a week, down from 12 percent last year, according to the survey of more than 5,200 workers between Nov. 5 and Nov. 23, 2009. Workers shared a variety of reasons for being tardy, led by traffic (32 percent) and lack of sleep (24 percent). Seven percent said getting their kids ready for school or day care was the cause of their lateness, and the same percentage said bad weather was the culprit. Other common reasons included public transportation, wardrobe issues or dealing with pets.

General Motors Co., which emerged from bankruptcy last year, has a “reasonable chance” to show a profit this year and could possibly make an initial public offering (IPO), Chris Lidell, the company’s chief financial officer, said in a Reuters report. GM had planned for an IPO within about a year after its emergence from a bankruptcy reorganization supported by the U.S. government, which now holds a more than 60 percent stake in the company.

Applications for U.S. home loans slid last week despite the lowest mortgage rates in more than three months, the Mortgage Bankers Association said today in a Reuters report carried by CNBC.com. The industry group’s market index, which includes purchase and refinance applications, fell a seasonally adjusted 1.9 percent to a three-week low despite improving borrowing costs. Average 30-year mortgage rates dropped 0.1 percentage point to 4.91 percent in a steady descent from a recent peak of 5.18 percent at the start of the year. Rates have not been lower since early December.