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Allstate plans
Utah expansion
Allstate Insurance plans to appoint 10 new agency owners in Salt Lake City before the end of 2012. Candidates must have a minimum of $50,000 to invest in their agency, Allstate said. More information is available at http://www.allstate.com or by calling 877-711-1006.
ACG resumes
breakfast meetings
The Utah chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth is kicking off its next series of breakfast programs Sept. 11 at the Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City. Leo Hopf, author of "Rethink, Reinvent, Reposition: 12 Strategies to Renew Your Business and Boost Your Bottom Line," will be the keynote speaker. Breakfast begins at 7:15 a.m. To register, call 801-359-8613 or go to www. acgutah.org.
Latest joblesss
claims unchanged
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits was unchanged last week at a seasonally adjusted 374,000, suggesting slow improvement in the job market. The Labor Department said the four-week moving average, a less-volatile measure, increased to 370,250. The data suggest that the government's employment report for August, to be released next week, will show job gains near the recent monthly average of 100,000.
Farm states
get some rain
Growers in farm states punished by the nation's worst drought in two generations welcomed rains this week that at least for a time soaked their parched crops and eased the dryness. But with Hurricane Isaac's remnants crawling inland, some farmers wonder whether too much relief is on the horizon. Forecasters expect Isaac, downgraded to a tropical storm, could slide into Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Ohio as early as Friday, dumping as much as 12 inches of rain on the region.
Utah company
adopts new name
Idaho Technology, the Salt Lake City clinical diagnostics products company, has changed its name to BioFire Diagnostics Inc. The company has also relaunched its website as http://www.biofiredx.com. The changes "more accurately reflect" the company's business strategy, BioFire said. "We have established strong momentum in the diagnostics marketplace, and the new branding ... better reflects the markets we serve," CEO Kirk Ririe added.
Barclays names
new chief exec
Scandal-tainted Barclays has appointed Antony Jenkins, an insider, to be CEO, as the bank aims to restore its reputation. Jenkins, an Oxford-educated Briton who led the retail and business banking unit, steps into the top spot during a period of continued upheaval. The bank is trying to distance itself from the rate-manipulation scandal that occurred under the watch of CEO Robert Diamond Jr., who resigned in early July.
Carlyle buys
Dupont unit
The DuPont Co. is selling its performance coatings business for $4.9 billion in cash to The Carlyle Group, giving the private equity firm another investment in the automotive and industrial segments. DuPont CEO Ellen Kullman said the sale will allow the company to focus on higher-growth, higher-margin businesses. Those include agriculture and nutrition, bio-based industrials, and advanced materials, which are the foundation of DuPont's long-term growth targets.