Category: Business

By Cindy Krischer Goodman, McClatchy Newspapers – Some people think it’s a good hedge to get a master’s of business administration during the economic slowdown. Adrian Burstein is one of them. For the…

By Doreen Hemlock and Arlene Satchell, Sun Sentinel – FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Starting Thursday, forget about finding a $9 airfare. That’s the beginning of new U.S. Department of Transportation airfare rules that…

By Mike Swift, San Jose Mercury News – SAN JOSE, Calif. — As Google increasingly seeks to meld what were once separate services into a single overall experience, the Internet giant is also…

By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch – NEW YORK — U.S. stocks closed with losses for two of three main indexes as investors mulled a European standoff over Greece’s debt and the latest slew of…

By David Sarno, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Apple Inc. is selling a whole lot of just about every product it makes — and investors are loving it. The company’s stock…

By Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times – WASHINGTON — The International Monetary Fund predicted Europe would fall into a mild recession this year, helping drag down global economic growth to a sluggish 3.3…

By Jerry Hirsch, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — The top car brands seem to be losing their importance in the eyes of consumers as competition across the industry heats up. For…

FOREST CITY, IOWA, January 23, 2012 – Winnebago Industries, Inc. has announced the appointment of Todd Jass to the position of warehouse, distribution and production control manager. Jass replaces Ron Berry as…

Dave DeWitte, CR Gazette – A Peosta company that makes tracks for outdoor equipment and snowmobile garments is planning an expansion that will create 23 jobs. Camoplast Rockland was awarded $168,000 in direct…

By Jeffrey Tomich, St. Louis Post-Dispatch – ST. LOUIS — You don’t need to be able to find the Strait of Hormuz on a map to understand the global nature of the oil…

By Tom Hudson, McClatchy Newspapers – A Super Bowl-bound coach would not be so bold as to predict the final score. Yet on Wednesday, the head coaches of the economy will begin predicting…

George C. Ford, The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa – The president and chief operating officer of Alliant Energy has been appointed to succeed William Harvey as chairman, president and chief executive officer of…

(DES MOINES) – Gov. Terry E. Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds today welcomed the news that Southwest Airlines, along with its wholly-owned subsidy, AirTran Airways, confirmed today the intent to convert…

By Stuart Pfeifer, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Members of Congress are calling for an investigation into the 1-800-GET-THIN weight-loss surgery marketing campaign and the safety and effectiveness of the Lap-Band…

By Tom Hudson, McClatchy Newspapers – A Super Bowl-bound coach would not be so bold as to predict the final score. Yet on Wednesday, the head coaches of the economy will begin predicting…

By Stuart Pfeifer, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Investors placing their bets for 2012 are faced with the classic dilemma: Stick with market sectors that performed best last year, or search…

By David Pierson, Los Angeles Times – BEIJING — The lamb chops were cooked to perfection. Fine wines flowed. Then came the piece de resistance — a 1997 Chateau Petrus Pomerol that can…

By Steve Schmadeke, Chicago Tribune – CHICAGO — Growing up on Chicago’s South Side, Sharon Smiley was taught by her father that success is born out of hard work, and he demonstrated that…

Dave DeWitte, CR Gazette – Iowa was among 33 states awarded additional USDA disaster assistance Wednesday to help restore lands damaged by widespread natural disasters in 2011. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack…

By Marie G. McIntyre, McClatchy-Tribune News Service – QUESTION: In my previous job, I basically committed career suicide. I gossiped, backstabbed and yelled at important people. I assumed my co-workers were out to…

By Rex Huppke, Chicago Tribune – If the workplace were a person, meetings would be the unidentifiable, gooey stuff stuck to that person’s shoe. Loathed almost universally, meetings gobble up time like ravenous…

Jessica Bernstein-Wax, The Marin Independent Journal, Novato, Calif. – Anyone planning to look up Paul Revere’s birthday on Wikipedia or scan Reddit for cute photos of baby dolphins will be out of luck…

By Jim Puzzanghera and Richard Verrier, Los Angeles Times – WASHINGTON — Until this week, entertainment industry executives thought they had the votes for new federal legislation cracking down on foreign websites that…

By Liz Reyer, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) – QUESTION: I felt recently that my integrity was challenged at work. It’s a value that I hold central and that has never been questioned. I’m furious…

By David Pierson, Los Angeles Times – BEIJING — In the final quarter of 2011, China’s economy grew at its slowest pace in 2 1/2 years because of shrinking exports, tighter bank lending…

By E. Scott Reckard, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Wells Fargo & Co. reported a 20 percent jump in fourth-quarter profit, with better-than-expected returns from its giant mortgage business, while Citigroup…

By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch – MADRID — French President Nicolas Sarkozy brushed aside on Monday the recent downgrade of France’s triple-A credit standing, saying rating agencies don’t set the economic policy of France…

By Andrea Chang, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Zappos.com, the popular shoe website, was the victim of a cyber attack that exposed customer information on the company’s internal network and systems,…

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Iowa’s premier showpiece, the 2012 Iowa Travel Guide, is now available to assist travelers planning an Iowa vacation. The guide is free and may be ordered by phone…

George C. Ford, CR Gazette – Iowa corn producers are primarily using on-farm storage to hold their 2011 crop, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Sixty-four percent of…

Becky Yerak, Chicago Tribune – Aon Corp. said Friday it will move its corporate headquarters to London from Chicago. Chicago will continue as headquarters of the Americas for Aon. Aon, which is publicly…

MCT FORUM, By Jigar Shah – Six decades ago, Gen. Omar Bradley warned that expanding the Korean War into China would be “the wrong war, at the wrong place, at the wrong time,…

By Tom Hudson, McClatchy Newspapers – Years before today’s i-mania of Apple, the company relied on its education business to stay alive. On Thursday, Apple is expected to take on the textbook business,…

Dave DeWitte, CR Gazette – Rockwell Collins will be on a ITT Excelis-led team in the pursuit of the next major contract to build the FAA’s new satellite-based air traffic control system, NextGen….

By Greg Robb, MarketWatch – WASHINGTON — Sales at U.S. retailers increased 0.1 percent in December from the month before, the government said Thursday, in a report that bucked expectations of stronger sales…

By Kevin G. Hall, McClatchy Newspapers – WASHINGTON — After doggedly opposing the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 2010, then fighting all last year to change its composition, the U.S….

FOREST CITY, Iowa, Jan. 12, — Winnebago Industries, Inc., (NYSE: WGO) a leading United States(U.S.) recreation vehicle manufacturer, introduces the new tag-axle 42E to its 2012 Winnebago Journey and Itasca Meridian Class A diesel lineup. “Our…

FOREST CITY, IOWA, January 10, 2012 – Winnebago Industries, Inc. (NYSE:WGO), a leading United States (U.S.) recreation vehicle manufacturer, was recognized by Ford Motor Company for receiving the “fully meets” classification as…

Dave DeWitte, CR Gazette – CEDAR RAPIDS — Rockwell Collins eliminated 100 positions companywide in its third round of workforce reductions related to cutbacks in domestic defense spending. The position cuts were…

By Kirsten Valle Pittman, McClatchy Newspapers – CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As Bank of America Corp. finalized plans to buy the ailing Countrywide Financial Corp., government officials traded emails about the mortgage lender’s troubles,…