W.R. Berkley Corp. has formed Berkley Agribusiness Risk Specialists under Continental Western Group LLC. Based in Des Moines, the new division will offer property and casualty insurance products to mid-sized and larger commercial agribusiness and related risks. Terry Shaw has been appointed division president and Brad Waline and Brad London have been named senior vice presidents of the division. Last February, W.R. Berkley Corp. was approved for state tax credits to acquire and renovate a 122,000-square-foot building in Urbandale to house Berkley Technology Services LLC and Continental Western Group. At the time, the project was expected to create around 76 new jobs.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index fell 18.2 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with the fourth quarter of 2007, the largest drop since the index began 21 years ago, MSNBC reported. The index that tracks home prices in 20 major U.S. cities fell 18.5 percent.

LightEdge Solutions Inc. has formed LightEdge Consulting Services, a subsidiary that will offer consulting services primarily to small and medium-sized businesses on a range of information technology issues, including discovery/design, architecture, server maintenance, backup systems and patch management. For more information, go to www.lightedgeconsulting.com.

Iowa Workforce Development and KCCI-TV will host a career fair on Wednesday at the Des Moines Workforce Center, 430 E. Grand Ave. Employers will be available to meet with potential job candidates from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 5 to 7 p.m. KCCI will broadcast live from the event and provide additional information on programs and services for Iowans. In the evening, a live KCCI phone bank will take calls and answer people’s questions on such topics as applying for new jobs, types of benefits available and what employers are looking for. To call the phone bank, dial 247-8808.

Meredith Corp. has signed a multiyear contract to use the SendMyAd portal designed to have advertisers for all Meredith publication more easily submit, approve and deliver advertising materials and corresponding data to the Des Moines-based publishing company, Graphic Arts Online reported. If there is a problem in uploading an advertisement, the portal will alert the advertiser and give directions on how to fix it, helping ensure that the advertisement is delivered to Meredith ready for publication.

Meta Financial Group Inc. has announced a cash dividend of 13 cents per share, payable on or about April 1 to shareholders of record as of March 16.

Principal Financial Group Inc. has declared a cash dividend of $1.39075 per share on its 5.563 percent Series A non-cumulative perpetual preferred stock and a cash dividend of 40.7375 cents per share on its 6.518 percent Series B non-cumulative perpetual preferred stock. The dividends are payable on March 30 to shareholders of record as of March 12.

United Way of Central Iowa is seeking nominations for awards recognizing organizations and individuals for their philanthropic efforts and community impact. Winners will be recognized at a Live United recognition event on April 21 at the Des Moines Marriott Downtown. The deadline for nominations is tomorrow. For more information, click here.