Category: Business

CLEVELAND – Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corporation (NYSE:ETN) today announced it has completed its acquisition of E.A. Pedersen Company, a manufacturer of medium voltage switchgear primarily for the electrical utilities industry. The

SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Dec. 29, 2011– (NASDAQ: AMZN) – Amazon.com, Inc. today announced that 2011 was the best holiday ever for the Kindle family as customers purchased millions of Kindle Fires and millions of Kindle e-readers.

By Richard Simon.Los Angeles Times WASHINGTON — Ever wonder what happens to the loose change that harried travelers leave behind at airport checkpoints? One lawmaker has his sights on the unclaimed money,

Scott Dochterman, The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa NEW YORK — Iowa State linebacker Jake Knott will graduate with a business management degree and minor in finance. He had a keen interest of the

By Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times LOS ANGELES — Wendy’s is making a high-end re-entry into Japan with a $16 burger festooned with foie gras and truffles. The third-largest fast-food chain in the

McClatchy-Tribune News Service The following editorial appeared in the Kansas City Star: ——— Much of the analysis of the housing crash and ensuing credit panic has focused on the manic activities of

By Hugo Martin, Los Angeles Times If you suffer from a fear of flying, here’s something that might calm your nerves: The first 11 months of 2011 were the safest period for commercial

DETROIT — Nissan gained market share in the U.S. this year despite a massive earthquake and tsunami in March that shook its headquarters in Japan and temporarily closed its plants. The devastating

KEOKUK – A contentious lockout involving Roquette America and the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union Local 48G finally was resolved July 23 with the ratification of a four-year

FOREST CITY, IOWA, December 15, 2011 – Winnebago Industries, Inc. (NYSE:WGO), one of the leading United States (U.S.) recreation vehicle manufacturers, today reported financial results for the Company’s first quarter of fiscal

BEIJING … Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corporation announced On December 15th, 2011 that it has received two awards for its efforts in sustainability reporting and corporate citizenship in China. The awards were

By Tom Hudson, McClatchy Newspapers – Maybe it has been drowned out by all the holiday sales and Christmas cheer, but the U.S. job market seems to be improving. In each of the

By Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times DESERT HOT SPRINGS, Calif. — Briefcase in hand, Steve Allen knocks on the back door of Rose Mortuary and Crematory. He’s been on the road for two

George C. Ford, The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa – Jim Rogers, owner of Jim’s Instrument Manufacturing in Iowa City, is known for his ability to visualize an intricate medical instrument and all of

Albert Lea Tribune, Minn. AUSTIN — Hormel Foods Corp. CEO, president and chairman Jeff Ettinger received a compensation package worth nearly $9 million for the 2011 fiscal year, equal to his 2010

By Tony Pugh, McClatchy Newspapers – WASHINGTON — After a near collapse at the height of the Great Recession, the streamlined U.S. auto industry defied the odds and outperformed the greater economy this

By Robin Abcarian and Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times – DES MOINES, Iowa — With no snow on the ground in this unseasonably warm state, the only blizzard Iowans are facing is the

By Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times –   WASHINGTON — The new mortgage fee to fund the temporary extension of the payroll tax cut could damp the still-sluggish real estate market and complicate

By Don Lee, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — Despite the ballyhooed record retail sales over Thanksgiving, consumer spending for all of November turned out to be rather ho-hum. Personal spending overall edged

By Walter Hamilton, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — The Standard & Poor’s 500 will enjoy a merry Christmas after all. The broad blue-chip index turned positive on the year, thanks to

Dave DeWitte, The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa The Babcock and Wilcox Co. has been awarded a $43 million contract to engineer and supply a major emissions control systems for Alliant Energy’s 743-megawatt Ottumwa

George C. Ford, The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa – Driven by export demand, Iowa ethanol production hit a record 3.7 billion gallons this year, up 200 million gallons from 3.5 billion gallons in

WASHINGTON – U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson today announced a $1.34 million Economic Development Administration (EDA) investment to the city of Fort Madison, Iowa to make sanitary sewer infrastructure improvements needed to

By David Sarno, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Your computer’s appetite for cookies would put the Cookie Monster to shame. Without letting you know, your Internet browser gulps down hundreds of

WASHINGTON – Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole and Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division Sharis A. Pozen issued the following statements today after AT&T Inc. abandoned its proposed acquisition

By Alejandro Lazo, Chicago Tribune – LOS ANGELES — A national real estate group sharply revised down the number of homes it calculated were sold from 2007 to 2010, revealing a much weaker housing

By Kim Geiger, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — Commercial airline pilots will be entitled to shorter shifts and longer rests under a new set of rules issued Wednesday by the Federal Aviation Administration.

By Reid Kanaley, The Philadelphia Inquirer – Voice recording for memos, interviews and lectures has moved — like so many tasks — to the smartphone. These applications help you save, or transcribe,

By Katherine Skiba, Chicago Tribune –   WASHINGTON — Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and federal officials on Wednesday announced a $335 million national settlement with Bank of America Corp. stemming from former

By Alejandro Lazo, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — New construction on homes and apartments increased sharply in November, a bright spot for the beleaguered U.S. real estate market. New housing starts

Moline, Illinois (December 19, 2011) – Deere & Company today confirmed it plans to expand the manufacturing capacity at the John Deere Des Moines Works following the actions taken by the Iowa Economic Development Authority

By Stuart Pfeifer, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — The 1-800-GET-THIN marketing company, under scrutiny by federal and local authorities, has pledged to change the way it advertises Lap-Band weight-loss surgery to

By Kevin McDermott, St. Louis Post-Dispatch – SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — From Springfield to Jefferson City to Washington, government today has more electronic windows into its soul than ever before. Consider the hypothetical

Dave DeWitte – The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa – Rockwell Collins is collaborating with NASA on a data link that will enable unmanned aircraft to safely operate in the national airspace. Rockwell

Dave DeWitte, The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa – Cedar Rapids and Iowa City ranked near the top in the annual Milken Institute ranking of cities by economic performance for 2011, according to a

by Dave DeWitte MidAmerican Energy Holdings has agreed to buy 49 percent of a $1.8 billion solar photovoltaic project under development in Arizona. The Des Moines-based company said it will acquired the

WASHINGTON — More than three years ago, the government rescued the nation’s housing finance giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, from collapse in the wake of the mortgage market meltdown. On Friday,

By Ricardo Lopez LOS ANGELES — IBM’s Watson supercomputer may be best known for handily beating “Jeopardy!” game show champs. Now it’s being harnessed to help doctors at Cedars-Sinai’s cancer clinic in