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John Zumwalt said he plans to give up the chief executive officer’s role at The PBSJ Corp.

Zumwalt, who also is chairman of the engineering and consulting firm, said in a Jan. 25 letter to shareholders that the company expects a new CEO to be in place by the end of September. Zumwalt said he would continue to serve as CEO until his replacement is found.

Korn/Ferry, an executive search firm, will perform both an internal and external search for candidates under the oversight of the nominating committee of the company’s board, Zumwalt said in his letter, which was first reported by the nonprofit news organization, Broward Bulldog.

PBSJ, an employee-owned firm headquartered in Tampa, has been under scrutiny following a series of what Zumwalt described in his letter as “management crisis,” including a $36 million embezzlement scheme and accusations of violating federal campaign finance laws. Most recently, the company said early results of an internal probe suggested that violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act might have occurred in connection with certain projects undertaken by its PBS&J International Inc. subsidiary.

Zumwalt, who served as president of the international subsidiary until July, said he would focus his attention in the coming months on the strategy growth of the corporation and the strengthening and expansion of its core North American businesses.

Bob Paulsen, vice chairman, will provide day-to-day oversight of the current businesses at the corporate level, as it moves ahead with a streamlined business organization, the letter said.

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Ben S. Bernanke will keep his job as Federal Reserve chairman, the White House and the Senate’s senior Republican predicted two days after wavering support among some Democrats helped drive stock prices lower.

President Barack Obama “is very confident that the chairman will be confirmed,” David Axelrod, a senior White House adviser, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” program. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Bernanke will have “bipartisan support in the Senate” even as a number of his party are opposed.

The assurances followed declarations of support for Bernanke from the top two Democrats in the Senate, Nevada’s Harry Reid and Richard Durbin of Illinois, who earlier said they were undecided. John McCain, the Republican 2008 presidential nominee, and John Cornyn, who runs the party’s senate campaign committee this year, are against him. Online traders yesterday raised the odds of approval to 92 percent from as low as 65 percent on Jan. 22.

“We’ve dodged the bullet on this one,” said Greg Valliere, chief policy strategist at Potomac Research Group in Washington. “People were aghast by what happened in the markets on Friday, and do they really want to get angry letters from constituents who have lost money in the stock market because of the Bernanke vote?”

Stocks React

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 2.2 percent on Jan. 22 to 1,091.76, erasing gains so far in 2010, as Reid and Durbin withheld their support for Bernanke and two Senate Democrats, Barbara Boxer of California and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, said they would join Republicans already against him. Both Boxer and Feingold are up for election this year. The S&P 500 was up 0.3 percent to 1,094.93 at 11:46 a.m. today in New York.

The Democratic Party’s loss of a Senate seat in Massachusetts last week has added to pressure on those senators facing re-election at a time of rising voter anger over the economy. Bernanke’s critics have blamed the Fed for lax regulation of banks before the credit crisis and questioned its involvement in the $182 billion bailout of New York-based insurer American International Group Inc.

“It is difficult for governors or chairmen to discharge responsibility under a cloud of uncertainty regarding the security of tenure,” Philippine central bank Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said in an interview in Manila today when asked about Bernanke’s struggle to get confirmed. “It’s best the appointment of a central bank governor is depoliticized.”

Impact on Regulation

While Bernanke’s chances of winning a second term improved, comments by lawmakers supporting him suggest that the 56-year- old former Princeton University economist will be under greater scrutiny on bank regulation and consumer protection.

Durbin, the Senate majority whip, said in a Jan. 23 statement that he will “continue to demand that the Federal Reserve make a commitment to transparency and accountability in its policies.”

“I will make it clear that if the Federal Reserve refuses to exercise its authority to demand bank reform and protect America’s consumers, I will join with members of Congress to push for new laws that achieve those goals,” he said. Bernanke is set to meet with Durbin at 4:15 p.m. today, said Max Gleischman, a Durbin spokesman.

Reid plans a Senate vote on Bernanke’s confirmation this week, said Jim Manley, a spokesman. His term expires Jan no fax payday loan. 31.

Senate Rules

Bernanke’s supporters need 60 votes to limit debate and clear the way for a final vote. Under Senate rules, a motion to limit debate would set up a procedural vote after two legislative days to curtail additional debate to 30 hours.

McConnell indicated enough Republicans will join Democrats in backing the central banker.

“I would anticipate he will be confirmed,” the Kentucky Republican said on NBC. McConnell declined to say how he would vote.

“We believe he will be confirmed,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said on “Fox News Sunday.”

White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett said on NBC that Obama received assurances from Reid over the weekend that Bernanke will be confirmed, after support among Democrats ebbed in the wake of an upset victory by Republican Scott Brown in the Jan. 19 Massachusetts special election. Axelrod called Bernanke “a steady hand in the crisis.”

McCain’s Vote

Arizona’s McCain, who lost to Obama in 2008, said he is leaning toward voting against Bernanke, while being “worried” about the impact from rejecting the Fed chief.

“The fact is that Chairman Bernanke was in charge when we hit the iceberg,” McCain said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “His policies were partially responsible for the meltdown that we experienced, and I think he should be held accountable.”

Cornyn, of Texas, said on “Fox News Sunday” he would vote against Bernanke, while Republican Orrin Hatch of Utah and Democrat Robert Menendez of New Jersey told CNN they would support the Fed chief, a Republican first appointed by President George W. Bush four years ago.

Bernanke may get as many as 70 Senate votes, Valliere said. “After Massachusetts, nothing’s certain, but I think it’s very likely that he’ll win,” Valliere said.

While Bernanke’s support among senators is running 2 to 1 in his favor, about half have yet to indicate how they will vote. Of senators who released statements or were contacted by Bloomberg News over the past three days, 32 said they would vote for Bernanke or were leaning in his favor, while 16 were opposed or leaning against him. The rest were undecided or didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Democrats Dianne Feinstein of California and Daniel Inouye of Hawaii announced their support for Bernanke today.

Dodd, Gregg

Christopher Dodd, the Connecticut Democrat who chairs the banking committee, and Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, the top Republican on the budget committee, said they are confident that Bernanke will be confirmed.

“I have some misgivings about Fed policy and the economic policy, but this man has guided us through a crisis,” Durbin said yesterday on CBS.

Richard Shelby, the senior Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, yesterday dismissed Dodd’s assertion on Jan. 22 that rejecting Bernanke risked sending the “worst signal to the markets” and triggering an economic “tailspin.”

Any decline in financial markets wouldn’t “last very long,” Shelby, of Alabama, said on CNN. Bernanke will see “a lot of tough votes against him,” and that would be a “strong message,” said Shelby, who reiterated his opposition to the Fed chief.

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When officials at the St. Patrick Center hatched the idea of shifting some of the center’s resources from the homeless to a support group for the recently unemployed, they estimated an effort serving perhaps 600 people for maybe a few months.

That was a year ago.

Today, the result of the center’s brainstorm — the Go! Network — boasts a membership database of 2,400 names (and counting). It has an open-ended commitment to continue serving the unemployed until the so-called jobless recession runs its course. And its organizers hope to expand it to other cities.

"To me, it’s been life-changing," said Caren Libby of Wildwood, who started attending Go! Network meetings after leaving her part-time job more than a year ago.

"Go! Network has given me the opportunity to utilize social media and make contacts."

Libby had been doing promotions for UniGroup Inc. in Fenton when she started seeing hints that her job was about to be eliminated or its hours sharply cut. Now, she has almost enough freelance marketing work to qualify as a full-time businesswoman, she says. Her business grew substantially after she volunteered to do marketing work for Go! Network.

"That helped me tremendously to grow my skills," she said, and helped her meet business contacts she wouldn’t otherwise have encountered.

In fact, Go! Network’s concept has proven so successful that St. Patrick and the internal subsidiary overseeing it, Celtic Creative, are actively pursuing public and private funding that would expand the program to six other U.S. cities: Cincinnati, Louisville, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Columbus and Memphis.

Dan Buck, the executive director of the center, said the model — giving employees displaced from professional positions a place to meet and address the myriad problems associated with joblessness — will work elsewhere.

"Outside of professional organizations, there (are few) community-driven comprehensive networks for out-of-work professionals," he said.

Buck and Chuck Aranda, the head of Celtic Creative, acknowledge they were unsure what lay ahead as they set the groundwork for the Go! Network on a budget of $200,000 in late 2008.

What they did know is that the recession, then reaching full speed, demanded some sort of response.

"Personally, we all knew somebody who was hurting," Buck said.

And he figured St. Patrick Center, with its track record of creating employment opportunities for the homeless, was in a good position to do something about it.

"We were finding a lot of people in this position who didn’t know where to go or what to do," Aranda said.

"They needed a professional environment."

Buck and Aranda figured on 100 or so showing up at the group’s first meeting, in early February 2009 — barely a month after the idea for the support group was first broached.

The 200-plus who spilled into the St. Patrick auditorium were the first clue of what lay ahead.

Aranda and Buck are quick to deflect credit for the Go! Network’s popularity and successes.

Much of the funding, they note, has come from corporate sources (including Anheuser-Busch) with a big boost from the United Way.

In the same manner, it is the members themselves who determine the focus of each Tuesday’s meetings and the topics addressed — many dealing with the financial and emotional toll of unemployment — in small group settings.

"St. Patrick Center didn’t drive the train," Buck said. "We just created the track."

Since last February, that line has brought 118 human resources executives from 46 area companies to Go! Network functions. Academics, mental health professionals and others have also paid visits.

So far, what Buck calls a "connector system for multi-skilled professionals" has played a part in helping 26 percent of the group’s members land jobs.

"What’s unique about this is the community response," Aranda said. "It shows what can happen when a combination of stakeholders in a community come together to help this population."

It’s time, he and Buck say, that other communities hard-hit by the economy have the same opportunity.

Buck flew last month to Washington where he met with Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, and U.S. Department of Labor officials about establishing Go! Networks — or variations there-of — in Kansas City and the five other cities.

Aranda and Buck said the St. Patrick Center would provide the wherewithal, the infrastructure and the existing Go! Network website (GoNetworkSTL.com) as a template.

The government would provide funding, perhaps from the Federal Recovery Act. The United Way, Buck said, has already expressed a willingness to join forces with St. Patrick in setting up programs in the six other urban areas.

Aranda stressed the networks in all cities will follow the lead of St. Louis by emphasizing the creation of new jobs by promoting start-up entrepreneurial efforts.

Whether the Go! Network lands one other city or all six on the wish list, Aranda said the objective will remain as clear as it is simple: "It’s responding to the needs and helping the people themselves respond to those needs in a difficult time."

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Gold prices plunged Thursday as the dollar surged against the euro amid concerns about the economic health of certain European nations.

February gold fell $28, or 2.5%, to settle at $1,107.40 an ounce after falling to a low of $1,098 an ounce earlier in the session. The retreat came two weeks after gold settled at an all-time high of $1,218.30 an ounce.

Carlos Sanchez, a precious metals analyst at CPM Group in New York, said the selloff was "definitely attributable to the stronger dollar, and some stop-loss selling."

The dollar jumped 1.3% against the euro to $1.4346, its highest level since early September. The euro came under pressure after Standard & Poors downgraded Greece’s credit rating, raising concerns about the health of other strained euro zone economies like Ireland.

A stronger dollar tends to weigh on the price of gold, since the precious metal is traded in U.S. dollars around the world.

The buck was also supported by a Wednesday statement from the Federal Reserve that said U personal loan for poor credit.S. economic conditions continue to improve, even as the central bank held interest rates near historic lows.

Sanchez said a firm move below $1,100 an ounce could pave the way for a brief retreat toward a range near $1,050 an ounce. However, he expects the weakness to be short lived.

Gold, which has gained about 24% this year, has been on a tear over the last few months as the dollar has weakened substantially.

While the dollar has regained ground in recent days, many traders expect gold prices to push higher into next year amid strong investor interest and the outlook for low U.S. interest rates.

In a research report out Thursday, analysts at Morgan Stanley raised their forecast for gold prices next year by 20% to $1,200 an ounce. The investment bank also raised the outlook for 2011, but reduced forecasts from 2013 onwards.  

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Otterbein Homes has acquired Pioneer Home Health Care, a Medicare-certified home health agency with operations in the Wilmington area.

Pioneer Home Health Care was established in 2005 by licensed physical therapists Tim McCormick and Kimberly Neikirk. Neikirk has been named executive director for the new venture for Otterbein, and McCormick will assume the position of therapy supervisor.

All of the other current employees will remain with the company, according to a press release.

Otterbein’s five full-service retirement communities in western and northern Ohio are located in Lebanon, St. Marys, Cridersville, Pemberville and on the Marblehead Peninsula on Lake Erie. Avalon by Otterbein neighborhoods, which offer skilled nursing and rehabilitation, are located in Perrysburg and Monclova in northern Ohio and Springboro and Middletown in southern Ohio Same day payday loans.

Avalon in Hamilton Township is under construction.

Jill Hreben, CEO of Otterbein Homes, said: “Extending the Otterbein brand to include home health services was critical to our continuing strategic goals, and we recognized an outstanding alignment with the level of care and the values displayed by Kimberly and Tim and the other partners at Pioneer.”

Otterbein Homes serves nearly 1,700 people and is related to the East Ohio and West Ohio Conferences of the United Methodist Church.

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The Bundesbank raised its growth forecasts for Germany, Europe’s largest economy, saying the outlook for the next two years has “brightened perceptibly.”

Gross domestic product will rise 1.6 percent next year and 1.2 percent in 2011 after dropping 4.9 percent this year, the Frankfurt-based Bundesbank said in its bi-annual economic outlook today. In June, it predicted the economy would stagnate in 2010 after contracting 6.2 percent in 2009.

“The outlook for the German economy has brightened perceptibly in recent months,” the Bundesbank said. The recovery is being driven by “extensive” monetary and fiscal stimulus,” it said, adding that exports, business investment and private consumption will gain in importance as those measures wane.

The economic revival in Germany is helping the 16-nation euro region shake off its worst recession since World War II, giving the European Central Bank room to scale back its emergency stimulus measures. The ECB yesterday said it will reduce its long-term lending to banks next year in an exit strategy that some economists say paves the way for eventual interest-rate increases in the second half of 2010.

“Germany fell further in the recession, so it can expect a bit more of a bounce,” said Colin Ellis, an economist at Daiwa Securities SMBC Ltd. in London. “The ECB will have to be very cautious about removing stimulus too early no faxing 1 hour payday loans. Pricing pressures are likely to remain subdued.”

Benign Inflation

The Bundesbank said German inflation will remain benign, averaging 0.9 percent next year and 1 percent in 2011 after just 0.3 percent this year. It predicted unemployment will rise to 10.1 percent in 2011 from 8.1 percent today.

It’s a “balancing act” for central banks to withdraw stimulus measures without threatening the economy, Bundesbank President Axel Weber, who also is a member of the ECB’s Governing Council, said yesterday in an interview with ARD television. “There’s no need to send a signal on interest rates at the moment” as inflation is contained, he said.

Germany’s economy emerged from recession in the second quarter and growth accelerated to 0.7 percent in the third. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is spending 85 billion euros ($128 billion) to stimulate activity, while demand for the country’s goods is growing as the global recovery gathers pace.

Exports will gain 4.5 percent next year and 4.3 percent in 2011, according to the Bundesbank. It predicts consumer spending will increase 0.2 percent in 2010 and 1 percent the following year.

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Europe’s biggest bank HSBC Holdings Plc said its underlying third-quarter profits were significantly ahead of a year ago and losses on U.S. consumer loans had shown their first fall in three years.

The news sent HSBC stock up over 4 percent to their highest in just over a year. At 0910 GMT (4:10 a.m. EST), the shares were up 3.4 percent at 715.7p.

In a trading statement on Tuesday which lacked detailed figures on its quarterly results, HSBC said its investment banking arm had maintained its record performance in the quarter, following bumper performances by rivals including Britain’s Barclays.

It said margins for the Global Banking and Markets arm were not as good in the quarter as they were in the exceptional first half, which benefitted from pent-up demand after the crisis hit at the end of 2008, but said margins were very good compared with previous years, including 2006 and 2007.

In the United States, which has been the focus of market concern, HSBC said loan impairment allowances for its consumer finance business declined, representing the first quarterly fall since the start of 2006 and their lowest level for over a year.

But the bank cautioned it was still too soon to call a turn in U.S. consumer impairments, which hit around $3 billion in the third quarter, though there were positive signs.

“Consensus forecasts (for unemployment, house prices) are moving down from some of the more pessimistic figures bad credit payday advance… if these things all play out, those would be reflective of turning points. But I don’t think anyone is confident to call those yet,” Finance Director Douglas Flint told reporters.

Overall loan impairment charges and other credit risk provisions declined in the quarter and were at their lowest quarterly level since the second quarter of 2008.

“I believe the biggest jolt has now passed through the global economy,” said HSBC Chief Executive Michael Geoghegan. “The world will likely see a two-speed recovery,” he said, adding that emerging markets are likely to drive the recovery.

The bank said on a reported basis, including losses on the fair value of its own debt, third-quarter profits were lower than a year ago. The bank said it had seen a further tightening of credit spreads in October, resulting in an additional reduction in the gain from fair-value movements in its own debt.

HSBC also said its U.S. business would announce the sale of its U.S. vehicle loan servicing operations and $1 billion in vehicle loans to Santander’s U.S. operations.

(Editing by David Holmes)

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U.S. retailers are poised to defy gloom this week as earnings expectations have improved, but the big test will be what they say about holiday shopping.

Earnings estimates for Standard & Poor’s 500 retailers have headed higher in recent weeks, some after October same-store sales figures were released Thursday, leaving strategists optimistic about next week’s retail results.

The sector takes center stage just as the earnings calendar winds down, with results already in from almost 90 percent of S&P 500 companies.

Same-store sales were mixed. But several retailers expected to post results this week, including upscale department store chain Nordstrom JWS.N, performed better than expected on the same-store sales front.

That bodes well for the week’s results, analysts said, but commentary about store traffic, with the start of holiday shopping less than three weeks away, could be just as important to investors.

“It’s all about perception going into Christmas,” said Todd Leone, head of listed trading at Cowen & Co. in New York.

The S&P 500 is up 58 percent since its 12-year closing low in early March. But it’s down more than 2 percent since mid-October, and investors are anxious to see if the market can hold those gains through the end of the year.

The Friday after the Thanksgiving holiday marks the start of the holiday shopping period, when most retailers traditionally make most of their profits.

Third-quarter earnings for retail apparel S&P 500 companies are seen rising 18 percent, compared with expectations for a gain of just 4 percent just three weeks ago, said John Butters, director of U.S. earnings for Thomson Reuters, in New York.

SLIGHTLY BRIGHTER PROSPECTS

S&P 500 department store earnings are seen declining 48 percent, but that’s an improvement from expectations for a drop of 54 percent three weeks ago, he said.

Earnings for the entire consumer discretionary S&P sector, which includes most retailers, are expected to increase 44.7 percent from a year ago, compared with October 1 expectations for a gain of 16 percent, Thomson Reuters data showed.

“If comps (same-store sales) are any indication, there should be some positive surprises,” said Fred Dickson, market strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co. in Lake Oswego, Oregon.

Retailers have been helped by economic growth, even though employment levels are falling, analysts said.

Friday’s government jobs report put the nation’s unemployment rate at 10.2 percent, the highest in 26-1/2 years. 

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The presidents of the nation’s top private universities got 6.5% more in pay last year, with 23 taking home more than $1 million, according to a study published Monday.

The Chronicle of Higher Education said the median pay for private-college chiefs rose to $358,746 in fiscal year 2007-2008.

The study of 419 private colleges nationwide also showed 110 presidents reported total compensation of more than $500,000.

Among the 23 presidents with total compensation above $1 million, the highest paid was Shirley Ann Jackson, president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., with $1,598,247 in salary and benefits.

Jackson, 63, a physicist and former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, was recruited to lead Rensselaer in 1999. She took a voluntary pay reduction of 5% for the current fiscal year, according to the Chronicle.

In a statement issued Monday, Rensselaer defended Jackson’s compensation, saying she helped raise $1.4 billion in capital, which transformed the school into "a top-tier, world class teaching and research institution."

"The value she contributes to the Institute far exceeds the amount she is paid," said William Walker, Rensselaer’s vice president of strategic communications and external relations.

David Sargent, president of Suffolk University in Boston, was the second highest paid college executive in the study. Sargent took home $1,496,593 in total compensation last year. But that’s down from $2,800,461 in fiscal 2006-2007, when he topped the list.

About one-third of Sargent’s pay was reported as deferred compensation in 2006 tax documents, and was reported again as salary this year, according to the report.

The third highest paid college chief was the University of Tulsa president Steadman Upham, with total compensation of $1,485,275.

Looking ahead, the Chronicle said salary increases have probably leveled off in the current fiscal year, with some presidents taking pay cuts.

Meanwhile, tuition prices are going up at many private schools, at least in part because endowments at those schools have dwindled.

Tuition and fees at private 4-year schools rose 4.4% in the current school year to $26,273, according to a survey released by the College Board last month. That doesn’t include room and board. 

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Ford Motor Co named Zhejiang Geely Holding Group as preferred bidder for its loss-making Swedish unit Volvo in what could lead to the biggest overseas acquisition by China’s fast-growing auto sector.

Ford and privately owned Geely did not disclose a possible sale price for Volvo but media reports have put it closer to $2 billion than the $6.45 billion Ford paid for Volvo in 1999.

The announcement moves the long-running sale, which began in December, closer to a conclusion. Intellectual property concerns, which last week threatened to derail any deal with Geely, may have been overcome.

But it could be months before a final agreement. Ford named Tata Motors as preferred bidder for Jaguar and Land Rover, its other top-end European brands, in January 2008 and reached a final accord in March of that year.

Ford said it will engage in “detailed and focused” negotiations with Geely, but there was no specific timeline to conclude negotiations. Ford will not retain a stake.

This sale is complicated because Volvo is closely woven into Ford’s wider operations, undertaking much of the group’s safety work, for example, and Ford said it would continue cooperating with Volvo.

Ford Chief Financial Officer Lewis Booth told a news conference at Volvo’s Gothenburg head office that Ford and Volvo needed to make sure the deal contained “appropriate safeguards” and Geely had to undertake more due diligence payday advances.

But he said; “We believe that (Geely) have the potential to be a very good owner of Volvo … they take the heritage of Volvo and the brand of Volvo very seriously indeed.”

ENSHRINE INDEPENDENCE

Hangzhou-based Geely said its proposal, financed by Chinese banks, would “enshrine management independence” at Volvo while allowing the Swedish carmaker to source components and tap into sales networks in China.

Volvo would keep existing production and research and development facilities, union agreements and dealer networks, Geely said in a statement on Wednesday.

A Volvo union leader said he was unfamiliar with Geely and had asked to speak to its representatives as soon as possible.

Earlier, Geely had faced competition from rivals including a U.S.-led group including former Ford director Michael Dingman, dubbed the Crown consortium, and Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp (BAIC), sources familiar with the matter have said.

Geely is not the only Chinese automaker reaching overseas: the smaller Tenzhong aims to close that deal to buy General Motors’s Hummer brand by early 2010.

Frankfurt-traded Ford shares stood 1.2 percent lower by 1251 GMT, at 4.96 euros a share, outperforming a 4.3 percent drop in the automaking sector. 

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