Des Moines-based Jacobson Cos. announced that it will merge with Dixie Warehouse Services of Louisville, Ky. Over the last three years, Jacobson has acquired five other companies in order to expand its national reach. Those companies are Arnold Logistics, Arthur Wells Group, Wilpak, Southwest Storage & Distribution and Bekins Logistics. The company had about $600 million in sales last year and expects $700 million this year, including revenues from Dixie. Jacobson provides warehousing, staffing, logistical and transportation services.

Sen. Chuck Grassley said yesterday that he plans to reintroduce legislation that would require hedge funds to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) following a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing on hedge funds and the financial markets. The bill he will file when Congress begins a new session in 2009 will be modeled after the Hedge Fund Registration Act he introduced in May 2007, which was referred to the Senate Committee on Banking but never brought up for consideration. The bill would change an action in 2006 by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals that overturned a regulation imposed by the SEC requiring hedge funds to register, saying it was beyond the SEC’s statutory authority.

Wells Fargo Financial will now report to Kevin Rhein instead of Mark Oman. The change is part of organizational shake-up taking place in preparation for Wells Fargo & Co.’s merger with Wachovia Corp. and is part of the transition process for Oman’s retirement at the end of 2009. Rhein currently oversees card services and consumer lending and is based in Minneapolis. It is unclear whether he will move to Des Moines. Oman, based in West Des Moines, will continue his role as senior executive vice president and head of Wells Fargo’s Home and Consumer Finance Group. Meanwhile, Reuters reported today that Wells Fargo executives will dominate upper management after the Wachovia purchase is complete, controlling 11 of 12 top positions.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) is trying to spur more lending to small businesses after the number of 7(a) small business loans declined 58 percent in October compared with the year-ago period, the Washington Business Journal reported. Previously, most lenders were basing their interest rates on these government-guaranteed loans on the prime rate, but recently the London Interbank Offeedr Rate (LIBOR), which lenders often must pay in order to obtain capital, has matched or exceeded the prime rate, making it unprofitable for many lenders. Now the SBA will now allow lenders to use LIBOR as a basis to price their 7(a) loans.

In an SEC filing yesterday, Casey’s General Stores Inc. reported a 3.1 percent rise in same-store gasoline sales in October 2008 compared with the year-ago period, with an average retail price of $2.70 per gallon. Same-store sales of grocery and other merchandise rose 5.6 percent and prepared food and fountain same-store sales were up 9.8 percent.

Gannett Co. Inc. has acquired social media services company Ripple6. The company will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Gannett and will continue to offer its social media technology and analytics to marketers and Web publishers outside Gannett. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Ripple6 currently operates Gannett’s MomsLikeMe.com Web sites, as well as social media programs for Procter & Gamble Co. and soon-to-be-launched MixingBowl.com for Meredith Corp.

Newspaper publisher Lee Enterprises Inc. reported operating income in the fiscal fourth quarter ended Sept. 28 of $5.4 million, or 12 cents per share, compared with $20 million, or 44 cents per share, in the year-ago period. The results don’t include a possible write-down on the value of assets, which will be reported when it files its statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Dec. 12. For the year ended Sept. 28, Lee lost $683 million, or $15.23 per share, compared with earnings of $81 million, or $1.77 per share, in the year-ago period.

Author and journalist Thomas Friedman is the featured speaker for the Greater Des Moines Partnership’s annual dinner at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 22 in Hy-Vee Hall at the Iowa Events Center. Friedman, a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner, will discuss his book “Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution – And How it Can Renew America.” He also is the author of the best seller “The World Is Flat.”