| Head of Hand Block tenders resignation
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – H&R Block Inc. said Tuesday that Mark Ernst has resigned as chairman, president and chief executive of the tax preparation and accounting services company. He is being replaced as chairman by former Securities and Exchange Commission boss Richard Breeden, who led a dissident shareholder group that won three seats on the board. Former Aetna Inc. executive Alan Bennett was named interim CEO while H&R Block looks for a permanent replacement. H&R Block shares slipped 10 cents to $18.97 in morning trading. Breeden has criticized the company's diversification into mortgage lending, investment advising and banking, saying it had robbed momentum from the company's core tax preparation and accounting services business. H&R Block has been restructuring in an effort to survive the collapse of the mortgage markets caused by rising interest rates and falling home prices.
Briefcase
NEW YORK — Wall Street finished a volatile session mostly higher Tuesday after investors, jittery about mortgage-related problems at major lenders, interpreted comments from the Federal Reserve as suggestive of another interest rate cut. The Fed pointed to slowing growth next year, an uptick in unemployment and moderating inflation, which would seem to portend a possible rate decrease. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 51.70, or 0.40 percent, to 13,010.14. Broader stock indicators also ended higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 6.43, or 0.45 percent, to 1,439.70, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 3.43, or 0.13 percent, to 2,596.81. Rolls-Royce passes over S.C. for jet engine plant RICHMOND — Rolls-Royce, the world's second largest maker of aircraft engines, will build a $100 million plant in Virginia's Prince George County to assemble and test jet engines, creating about 500 jobs, the company said Tuesday.
Breeden to replace Ernst as chairman
H&R Block Inc. said Tuesday that Mark Ernst had resigned as chairman, president and chief executive of the tax preparation and accounting services company. He is being replaced as chairman by former Securities and Exchange Commission boss Richard Breeden, who led a dissident shareholder group that won three seats on the company's board. Former Aetna Inc. executive Alan Bennett was named interim CEO while H&R Block looks for a permanent replacement to take the CEO role. H&R Block shares closed Tuesday at $19.32, up 25 cents, on the New York Stock Exchange. Breeden has criticized the company's diversification into mortgage lending, investment advising and banking, saying it had robbed momentum from the company's core tax preparation and accounting services business.
H&R Block CEO Ernst resigns, Breeden to be chairman
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Mark Ernst has resigned as chairman, president and chief executive of H&R Block Inc., the tax preparation and accounting services company said Tuesday.
Ernst is being replaced as chairman by former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Richard Breeden, who led a dissident shareholder group that won three seats on the H&R Block board.Former Aetna Inc. executive Alan Bennett was named interim CEO while H&R Block looks for a permanent replacement.Breeden has criticized the company's diversification into mortgage lending, investment advising and banking, saying it had robbed momentum from the company's core tax preparation and accounting services business.Ernst's departure follows the resignation of Chief Financial William Trubeck earlier this month.
Street projects coming soon
Street infrastructure improvements to Neosho's southtown business district are coming down the pike, according to information presented Tuesday night to the city council.Engineers from Allgeier Martin and Associates detailed resurfacing and restructuring plans for the portion of Missouri Highway 59 between U.S. Highway 60 and Malcom Mosby Drive.Included in the drawings is the removal of the outer road in front of Burger King, KFC, Edgewood Bowl, etc. north of Clemon Drive. Instead, separate entrances will be created for each business along that strip, accessible from the northbound lane of Missouri Highway 59. .
Business Owners Fear Eminent Domain
Fear of eminent domain is spreading among a group of Derby business owners. Brian Calvert, the owner of a Derby safe and lock business, told Eyewitness News that he didn't come to this country in 1968 and build up a business for 35 years to have it all torn down by eminent domain. "There are people unfortunately all over the U.S. today hearing those two words: eminent domain, and that's so un-American," he said. "Stealing is stealing where I come from." Calvert is one of a few business owners who are negotiating relocation terms and buyout possibilities with the city. The city tore down several blighted downtown buildings this past summer, but a few with living businesses remain. Derby city officials told Eyewitness News that they would prefer not to have to take people's property by court order, but a multimillion dollar downtown revitalization project hangs in the balance.
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