Principal Financial Group Inc. President and CEO Larry Zimpleman will present at the Citigroup Financial Services Conference on Wednesday, Jan. 28, at 10:15 a.m. Iowa time in New York. To access a webcast of the presentation, go to www.principal.com/investor. A replay will be available for one week following the event.

The Greater Des Moines Partnership’s Diversity Committee named Wells Fargo & Co., Bankers Trust Co., and Employee and Family Resources as its 2009 Diversity Award recipients. The awards were presented Thursday during the Partnership’s 120th Annual Dinner at Hy-Vee Hall in Des Moines.

The Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART) is holding a series of public workshops to gather input on bus service. Click here to check the schedule and locations for the meetings.

General Electric Co. reported a 44 percent drop in quarterly profit on weakness at GE Capital and its lighting and appliance units, as the U.S. conglomerate and economic bellwether closed out one of the toughest years in its 117-year history, Reuters reported. Despite meeting Wall Street’s lowered estimates, earnings at the company’s GE Capital finance arm tumbled 67 percent. Its energy infrastructure unit, which makes electric turbines and windmills, recorded 11 percent profit growth.

The Globe Gazette in Mason City has laid off nine full-time employees and will leave six open full- and part-time positions unfilled. Globe Gazette Publisher Howard Query blamed the layoffs on the struggling local and national economy. He said readership of the newspaper and its Web site remains stable. The Globe Gazette is one of 54 daily newspapers owned by Davenport-based Lee Enterprises Inc., which on Tuesday reported a 69 percent drop in fiscal first-quarter earnings.