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Economics and Financial Stories for Wednesday

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:29:09 GMT

As in wind-up doll, since we're starting with Mr. Paul's Office this time.[More...]

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Eugene Kane column: If you still have a job, stimulus worked

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:49:00 GMT

Nov. 7--Recent headlines suggest the hype over President Barack Obama's $787 billion plan to stimulate a slumping economy may have been overblown.
That's not surprising to me.
In local news, a Journal Sentinel review found a government stimulus job report that claimed more than 10,000 jobs were saved or created in Wisconsin was filled with errors that included double counting and inflated totals.

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NEWS DIGEST: Adecco's Spending Spree

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:46:00 GMT

Adecco's agreed acquisition of professional staffing company MPS Group signals the end of the company's 'big' acquisition phase.
The $1.36bn (pound 794m) buy strengthens Adecco's offering in a number of professional staffing areas: information technology (Modis, Idea Integration), finance and accounting (Accounting Principals and UK- based Badenoch & Clark), legal (Special Counsel), engineering (Entegee) and healthcare (Soliant Health).
Patrick De Maeseneire, chief executive of the Adecco Group, said: "The big acquisitions are now done; we want to grow organically from here and realise the synergies in the next two years."

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The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville, Mark Basch Column

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:46:00 GMT

Oct. 26--The early 1990s were a good time to go public.
One was MPS Group Inc., which was known as AccuStaff when it went public in August 1994 at $1.75 a share (after adjusting for two subsequent stock splits).
But like other IPOs that jumped up in price in the 1990s, MPS's stock dropped after the market tanked in 2000 and never traded near those levels again.

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MGM Mirage, Caterpillar, Apple are big movers

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:46:00 GMT

NEW YORK - The following stocks were among those that moved substantially or traded heavily Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange:
The medical device maker forecast disappointing earnings on slower sales of its implants, prompting an analyst to downgrade its stock.
The companys thid-quarter profit dropped 53 percent as dealers continue to chip away at stockpiles rather than placing new orders.

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Muskogee Schools Going Green: Move Will Save School District Energy and Money

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:49:00 GMT

Sep. 17--Muskogee Public Schools teachers are switching off unused computers, lights and other electrical equipment as part of a district-wide energy-saving initiative.
MPS Facilities and Maintenance Director Wayne Johnson said representatives at each school are taking steps to cut back on energy by making sure items are turned off when not in use.
"One of our board goals is to conserve energy usage," Superintendent Mike Garde told the MPS Board of Education earlier this week.

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Recession or Not, the Economy Has Some Catching Up to Do: The Recession May Be Over, but History Shows It Will Take Years Before Unemployment Starts Rebounding on the First Coast.

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 17:47:00 GMT

Aug. 23--The recession is over.
"If you ask a professional economist if it's over, the odds are they will say yes," said John Godfrey, a professional economist who is president of Florida Economic Associates in Jacksonville.
Consider this: Jacksonville area businesses had 588,600 employees on their payrolls in July, the month that many analysts say the recession ended.

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New MPS Database Wins Kudos From Taxpayer Group: But E-Mail Address for Help Was Wrong

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 07:54:00 GMT

Jul. 7--OOPS -- wrong e-mail address.
An announcement by Milwaukee Public Schools officials that they were posting online every invoice the system has paid in recent years drew praise even from a frequent critic, the CRG Network, a taxpayer group that had done almost the exact same thing months ago.
But the MPS news release gave the wrong e-mail address to use if you're looking for help in using the database.

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Fortune 500 Down to Two in Jacksonville

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:15:00 GMT

Apr. 21--Jacksonville can boast of only two Fortune 500 companies this year, as the two Fidelity National companies that made the 2008 list dropped in the rankings this year.
Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. ranked 340th (up from 347) with $7.3 billion in revenue in its last fiscal year.
The cutoff for making the Fortune 500 was $4.6 billion in revenue.

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Fortune 500 Down to Two in Jacksonville

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 20:18:00 GMT

Apr. 20--Jacksonville can boast of only two Fortune 500 companies this year, as the two Fidelity National companies that made the 2008 list dropped in the rankings this year.
Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. ranked 340th (up from 347) with $7.3 billion in revenue in its last fiscal year.
The cutoff for making the Fortune 500 was $4.6 billion in revenue.

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Is It Time to Bail Out?

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 22:20:00 GMT

When the Dow plunged below 7,000 this week for the first time in a dozen years, investors were left feeling even more nervous about their nest egg - and asking questions.WHAT SHOULD I DO NOW?It depends on things such as life stage, current asset mix and other factors, including how well you sleep at night.
SHOULD I STOP CONTRIBUTING TO MY 401(K)?Absolutely not, in most cases.
Not only are contributions tax- deductible and future earnings tax-free, but the money can be allocated to conservative funds, such as stable value funds, which are mostly unaffected by swings in the stock market.HOW LOW WILL THE MARKET GO?

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MPS Group Announces Third Quarter 2009 Results

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:46:00 GMT

MPS Group, Inc. (NYSE:MPS), a leading provider of specialty staffing, consulting and business solutions, today announced financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2009.
Third quarter revenue of $408 million was within the range of guidance previously provided by management, and diluted net income per common share of $0.06 was above the range of guidance previously provided by management, due primarily to lower general and administrative expenses and the benefit of a lower income tax rate.
MPS Group revenue decreased 29% versus last year's third quarter.

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Modis International Assists British Airways with Service Center Support

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:34:00 GMT

Modis International, the European information technology (IT) services business unit of MPS Group, Inc. (NYSE:MPS), today announced the expansion of its support of British Airways’ help desk service center. British Airways is the United Kingdom’s largest international scheduled airline, flying to more than 300 destinations worldwide.[More...]

Badenoch & Clark Named One of Britain’s Top Employers

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:27:00 GMT

MPS Group, Inc. (NYSE:MPS), a leading provider of specialty staffing, consulting and business solutions, today announced that Badenoch & Clark, its United Kingdom-based professional services unit, has been named to the list of Britain’s Top Employers by CRF International. CRF is an international publishing company that conducts research into best business practice in 12 countries on three continents. Its mission is to identify and certify the top performers in HR, strategy and leadership.[More...]

Beeline Obtains Ariba Ready Catalog PunchOut Certification

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:56:00 GMT

Beeline, the workforce solutions business unit of MPS Group, Inc. (NYSE:MPS), today announced another Ariba certification. Having attained Ariba Ready Invoice and Payment certification, Beeline continued to work with its client base and Ariba to achieve certification as Ariba® Ready™ Catalog PunchOut. Ariba Ready is a special designation awarded to suppliers that have demonstrated the ability to effectively transact with and provide content to organizations using Ariba Buyer™ through Ariba Supplier Network™.[More...]

MPS Group Announces Second Quarter 2009 Results

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:50:00 GMT

MPS Group, Inc. (NYSE:MPS), a leading provider of specialty staffing, consulting and business solutions, today announced financial results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2009.
Revenue decreased 29% versus last year's second quarter.
Excluding the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, revenue decreased 5% sequentially versus the first quarter of 2009.

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MPS Group to Broadcast Its Second-Quarter Conference Call Live on the Internet

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:27:00 GMT

MPS Group, Inc. (NYSE:MPS) today announced that it will provide an online Web simulcast of its second-quarter 2009 conference call on Wednesday, July 29, 2009. The Company will release its results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2009, that morning before the market opens.[More...]

Idea Integration Helps City of Seattle Launch Traveler’s Information Web Site

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:57:00 GMT

Idea Integration, the IT consulting and solutions unit of MPS Group, Inc. (NYSE:MPS), announced it has partnered with the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) to launch the Traveler’s Information Web site. This new site provides, for the first time ever, real time information on traffic conditions for major arterial streets in Seattle as well as nearby highways.[More...]

Soliant Health's Bilingual Therapies Unit to Host Ninth Annual Bilingual Symposium

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:02:00 GMT

Soliant Health, the healthcare staffing unit of MPS Group, Inc. (NYSE:MPS), today announced that its Bilingual Therapies unit will host a symposium for practicing bilingual and monolingual speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in San Juan, Puerto Rico, July 16-18. This will be the ninth annual symposium and the only one of its kind dedicated to helping bilingual and monolingual SLPs better serve the needs of bilingual children.[More...]

Idea Integration to Provide Microsoft® Stimulus360 Solutions to Track Stimulus Dollars

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:48:00 GMT

Idea Integration, the IT consulting and solutions unit of MPS Group, Inc. (NYSE:MPS), today announced that it will provide solutions based on Microsoft platforms that enable federal, state and local governments to track stimulus dollar spending. The Microsoft Stimulus360 solutions help public-sector agencies measure and share information about federal stimulus programs through easy-to-use graphical dashboards and maps. Microsoft has identified Idea Integration as a key Stimulus partner.[More...]

Idea Integration Helps City of Miami Cut Dispatch System Maintenance Costs By More Than 50 Percent

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:28:00 GMT

Idea Integration, the IT consulting and solutions unit of MPS Group, Inc. (NYSE:MPS), successfully migrated the City of Miami’s mainframe-based emergency fire and medical dispatch system to the more advanced Microsoft® .NET technology platform.[More...]