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Net hiring gain after numbers are crunched

By TIMES WIRES
Published December 13, 2006

Two steps forward, one step back. Eight percent of chief financial officers in the Tampa Bay area plan to hire accounting and finance staffers in the first quarter of 2007, but 4 percent plan to decrease staff. That's according to the most recent Financial Hiring Index by staffing firm Robert Half International. The net 4 percent increase is down 2 points from predictions for this quarter but 1 point above the national average. Robert Half queried 200 area chief financial officers.

'Strategic' career move for analyst

You can call him "strategist" now, thank you. Richard Bove, the area's best-known bank analyst, is taking on a new role with brokerage Punk Ziegel & Co. Besides covering banking, he'll be commenting and publishing research on topics such as the economy, the dollar and international markets. "Clients want more breadth," said Bove, 65, who is planning a book on the decline of the U.S. financial system and the rise of worldwide financial systems. Bove works out of his Lutz home.

Job training pays off for schools

Government money is flowing into specially tailored job-training programs in Florida. From a federal grant program of $7.2-million, St. Petersburg College was awarded $1.2-million to train 335 students in health informatics, a fast-growing field combining information science and medicine. The University of Florida in Gainesville received $500,000 from the state to train biotech workers for positions from lab technician to regulatory staff.

Mixed grade for state biotech plan

Florida's ambitious strategy to become a biotech powerhouse could use some help, according to a report by a watchdog agency affiliated with the state Legislature. The bureaucratic-sounding Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability recently reviewed state-funded biotech initiatives, starting with the $310-million earmarked three years ago for Scripps Research Institute. Though generally pleased with early results, the office suggested the Legislature create a privately managed, early-stage venture fund for biotech startups and said Enterprise Florida should keep closer tabs on the overall costs and effectiveness of the millions being devoted to biotech.

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All about money

Times personal finance editor Helen Huntley talks about money topics and answers your finance questions at blogs.tampabay.com/money.

[Last modified December 13, 2006, 00:13:43]