Category: Business

Michael Chevy CastranovaThe Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa – Chances are Pinterest has come up in a conversation recently. Perhaps it was the source of a recipe from a family gathering. Or maybe…

By Don Lee, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — Even as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke described the recovery as “frustratingly slow,” Republican lawmakers lit into the central bank chief’s latest efforts…

By Shan Li, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Shoppers turned out at the nation’s malls in January to redeem holiday gift cards and check out winter sales, spending carefully but sufficiently…

By Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune – BELVIDERE, Ill. — Three years ago, the American auto industry was not just in trouble, it was imperiled, with Chrysler facing the real possibility of running out…

By Matt Degen, The Orange County Register – So you’re pining for a Camaro but are over age 30? Or perhaps you like the idea of a powerful coupe but desire one with…

By Tom Hudson, McClatchy Newspapers – If you want to know how the Chinese economy is doing, look no further than KFC. Chinese diners are crazy for Kentucky Fried Chicken. That appetite has…

Austin Daily Herald, Minn. – Hormel Foods Corp. announced Thursday the upcoming retirements of Daniel Hartzog, vice president of sales, consumer products sales, and Bruce Schweitzer, vice president of operations, Refrigerated Foods….

By Christine Vestal, Stateline.org – WASHINGTON — The federal government this week announced a rule change it says will save the federal-state Medicaid program $17.7 billion over the next five years. Called for…

By Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune – CHICAGO — With Super Bowl XLVI just days away, advertisers are in an all-out blitz, pitching everything from pizzas to TVs in conjunction with the biggest sporting…

By Alisa Priddle, Los Angeles Times – LAS VEGAS — Hyundai Motor America is squeezing as much production as possible out of its facilities in the United States, but it will not be…

By Nathaniel Popper, Los Angeles Times – NEW YORK — Stocks surged around the globe Friday, thanks to a pair of good reports on the U.S. economy, sending the Dow Jones industrial average…

By Jerry Hirsch, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Except for saying that it will appeal, American Honda Motor Co. has kept from talking about its loss in a high-profile Civic hybrid…

By Ruth Mantell, MarketWatch – WASHINGTON — Employment in the nation’s private sector is improving at a moderate pace, with two years of job gains now on the books, according to a monthly…

By James Walsh, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) – MINNEAPOLIS — After a year of negotiations, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and representatives of the medical device industry have reached an agreement in principle…

By Sandra M. Jones, Chicago Tribune – CHICAGO — You can’t buy love, but that isn’t stopping Americans from spending plenty on jewelry, flowers, candy and dinner out this Valentine’s Day, according to…

By Brandon Bailey and Troy Wolverton, San Jose Mercury News – SAN JOSE, Calif. — In a milestone for one of Silicon Valley’s hottest companies, Facebook on Wednesday filed papers announcing a $5…

By Gail MarksJarvis, Chicago Tribune – Once traumatized, it’s tough to move on with your life without being cautious. And so goes the economy. Americans are reluctant to spend and businesses are clearly…

By Jack Z. Smith, McClatchy Newspapers – FORT WORTH, Texas — A new Texas Railroad Commission rule requiring oil and natural gas operators to publicly disclose the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing of…

Diane Heldt, The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa – IOWA CITY – State regents next week will be asked to ratify the University of Iowa purchase of a nearly $2.2 million robotic arm used…

By Pete Carey, San Jose Mercury News – SAN JOSE, Calif. — Silicon Valley, birthplace of personal finance and investment heavyweights like Intuit, Financial Engines and Mint, is percolating with new startups that…

By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch – NEW YORK — U.S. stocks closed with minor losses Monday as telecommunications and technology stocks advanced, offsetting concern that came with Portugal’s soaring borrowing costs. After a 131-point…

By Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Consumers had more money in their pockets in December, but fewer people decided to spend it, choosing instead to tuck the extra funds…

By Brent Snavely, Detroit Free Press – DETROIT — Workers at a General Motors assembly plant in Kansas have voted in favor of authorizing a strike. UAW Local 31 President George Ruiz said…

By Jeremy C. Owens, San Jose Mercury News – SAN JOSE, Calif. — Apple Inc.’s record 37 million iPhones sold in the last quarter of 2011 made it the world’s leading smartphone vendor…

By Matt Stevens, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Nearly 14 percent of orange juice imported to the U.S. since early this month has been seized by the Food and Drug Administration…

By Alejandro Lazo, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Struggling homeowners are set to get more help from the federal government as the Obama administration extends its key foreclosure prevention plan for…

Rex L. Troute, The Hawk Eye, Burlington, Iowa – FORT MADISON – The ribbon-cutting Friday was a celebration of progress. Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, local dignitaries and Pinnacle Foods…

By Ely Portillo, McClatchy Newspapers – CHARLOTTE, N.C. — US Airways Group Inc. and its 6,700 flight attendants have reached a tentative deal for a new, joint contract that will unite flight attendants…

By Alisa Priddle, Detroit Free Press – DETROIT — Success in North America fueled Ford’s most profitable year since 1998, but fourth-quarter losses and uncertainty in Europe and Asia spooked the market Friday….

By Kevin G. Hall, McClatchy Newspapers – WASHINGTON — The lower-than-expected annualized growth rate of 2.8 percent reported Friday for the final three months of 2011 raises doubts about the strength of the…

By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch – NEW YORK — U.S. stocks on Friday finished mostly lower, but a late surge in financial shares helped the S&P 500 preserve a fourth week of gains after…

AMES, Iowa – Jan. 26, 2012 – The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) is offering a pole building with metal siding for sale. The building is located at 2369 U.S. 30, west…

By Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times – WASHINGTON — The Obama administration’s new effort to investigate the causes of the nation’s mortgage meltdown will focus on coordinating the often overlapping state and federal…

As registration opens today for the second annual Iowa Ladies Football Academy, set for June 9, the event’s organizers have announced a five-year, $1 million pledge toward the construction of the new…

By Don Lee, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve said it is likely to leave short-term interest rates at rock-bottom levels at least through late 2014, giving businesses and consumers…

By Alisa Priddle, Detroit Free Press – DETROIT — A number of tax proposals form the backbone of President Barack Obama’s blueprint to support American manufacturing by discouraging outsourcing. A series of six…

WASHINGTON – Today, the United States Department of the Treasury announced the fifth and final disposition of securities within its Small Business Administration (SBA) 7(a) Securities Purchase Program, which was launched as part…

By Ana Anthony, The Daily Globe, Worthington, Minn. Jan. 25–SIBLEY, Iowa — Bob Alexander, accounts manager for Midwest Spray Foam, is certain that spray foam insulation is an energy efficient insulation type…

Kelli Lageson, Albert Lea Tribune – Mayo Clinic Health System has revamped its website, and it will be available starting Thursday. The redesigning of the site, at http://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org, is in conjunction with the…