Deere & Co. might sell $300 million of three-year notes through its John Deere Capital Corp. finance unit, according to a person familiar with the offering, Bloomberg reported today. Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. were hired to manage the sale, said the person, who declined to be identified because terms aren’t set.

Deere & Co. has announced it will invest about $100 million to modernize the John Deere Foundry in Waterloo, Bloomberg reported. The modernization work will take place in the next four to five years and allow the company to improve manufacturing capacity and flexibility.

BP plc’s stock dropped more than 10 percent yesterday, closing at $29.20, the lowest level in 14 years. BP shares have lost half their value since the April 20 drilling rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.

Three beef feedlots in Iowa are facing civil enforcement actions from the Environmental Protection Agency as part of a continuing enforcement emphasis aimed at ending harmful discharges of pollutants from concentrated animal feeding operations into rivers and streams. Hastings-based Bruce Feedlot has agreed to pay a $31,573 civil penalty. Rock Valley-based Groeneweg Farm and Ireton-based Gradert/Cla-Don/Winterfeld Feedlot must apply for a permit and complete wastewater controls by Oct. 31.

Initial jobless claims dropped by 3,000 to 456,000 for the week ended June 5, according to U.S. Labor Department figures released today. But more Americans than anticipated filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, a sign that firings remain elevated even as the economy is expanding, Bloomberg reported.