Ciber News Release (04/29/14)

Ciber Inc. reported revenues of $218 million for the first quarter of 2014, down 1% from $219.5 million in the first quarter of 2013. Net income totaled $4.1 million (before restructuring), up 127.8% from $1.8 million (before restructuring) in the year-ago period. The company’s North American revenues totaled $103.5 million, down 3% from $107.2 million in the 2013 first quarter.

Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. News Release (04/29/14)

Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. reported consolidated net revenue of $111.1 million for the first quarter of 2014, up 7.9% from $103 million in the first quarter of 2013. The company reported a net loss of $0.7 million, compared with a net loss of $1.2 million in the year-ago period. Executive search and leadership consulting revenues in the Americas totaled $57.6 million, down 2.7% from $59.2 million.

CTPartners News Release (04/29/14)

CTPartners Executive Search Inc. has entered into a letter of intent to acquire the Perth, Australia, office of Park Brown International, an executive search firm focusing on energy, natural resources, and infrastructure.

Conference Board News Release (04/29/14)

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had increased in March, declined slightly in April. The Index now stands at 82.3, down from 83.9 in March. The Present Situation Index decreased to 78.3 from 82.5, while the Expectations Index was virtually unchanged at 84.9 versus 84.8 in March.

Consumers’ assessment of current conditions pulled back moderately in April. Those claiming business conditions are “good” edged down to 21.8% from 22.6%, while those claiming business conditions are “bad” rose to 24.4% from 23.5%. Consumers’ assessment of the labor market was also slightly more negative. Those stating jobs are “plentiful” declined to 12.9 percent from 13.8%, while those saying jobs are “hard to get” increased to 32.5% from 31.4%.

New York Times (04/29/14) Binyamin Appelbaum

The Federal Reserve’s policy-making committee, which meets on Tuesday and Wednesday, is widely expected to announce another $10 billion cut in its monthly bond purchases, to $45 billion, en route to ending the purchases this autumn. Fed officials, meanwhile, have focused on assuring markets that interest rates will remain near zero for the next year or so, and stay low thereafter. Forecasters, including the Fed’s own staff and its officials, generally expect the economy to grow more quickly in the coming months, rebounding from a cold winter that suppressed first-quarter activity. An early indication will come Friday, when the government is scheduled to release an initial estimate of job creation in April. Faster growth could lead some investors to conclude that the Fed will decide to start raising rates sooner, or more quickly, than it has forecast. Fed chairman Janet Yellen has identified three considerations that will affect their timing: the extent of slack in the labor market, the outlook for inflation, and downside risks to growth.