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Marriott International Inc. has signed a management contract with Salt River Devco, a development company run by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community in Arizona, to operate a Courtyard by Marriott-branded hotel on reservation property.

It is Marriott’s first hotel on U.S. tribal land. It is located just outside of Scottsdale, Ariz.

The hotel, owned by Salt River Devco, is part of a 108-acre development it manages which currently includes six commercial buildings with plans for eight more.

“It is a great example of Marriott’s diverse ownership program, which currently has more than 500 diverse-owned hotels,” said Eric Jacobs, senior vice president of lodging development for Marriott cash advance to savings account.

The 156-room hotel is scheduled to open in 2012. Courtyard is Marriott’s (NYSE: MAR) largest brand, with 860 properties now and another 150 in development.

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Canadian media luminaries Jerry Grafstein, Raymond Heard and Beryl Wajsman announced today they are leading a consortium of local investors to acquire Montreal’s The Gazette, The Ottawa Citizen and The National Post.

The group is in the process of filing a bid to buy the three dailies Canwest LP, a division of Canwest Global Communications Corp. The partners hope to be able to begin due diligence on the operating data in the next few weeks.

The consortium partners have received strong financial commitments from unspecified sources. They said additional participants in the consortium will be announced shortly.

“Our partnership represents a cross spectrum of engaged Canadians committed to a vigorous, independent media voice for the communities that each newspaper serves. We are encouraged by the positive response we have received from investors,” the three consortium partners said. “We are firm in our view that there remains a bright future for newspapers supported by creative web platforms.”

The offer may face an uphill battle. The papers are part of a larger chain of 11 publications, which is currently operating under bankruptcy court protection from creditors. The chain is being offered for sale as an intact group, not as individual publications.

The founding family, headed by Leonard Asper, chief executive officer of Canwest Global, has indicated it wants to keep the papers together. Asper has noted in a pre-filing letter that the newspaper chain and another Canwest property, the Global television network, benefit financially from being able to sell joint advertising space to major national advertisers.

As well, the newspaper group would somehow have to improve on the offer Canwest already has on hand from its secured creditors, led by Canada’s major banks. The creditors say they will pay $950 million for the chain, the amount they are owed by Canwest LP.

But the media consortium said today it believes the newspapers would benefit from local involvement that would produce timely, informative, well-written stories and grassroots journalism reflecting the priorities of Canada’s diverse communities. Each newspaper has a loyal and interested readership, which the consortium said it is confident can be broadened and deepened.

Grafstein is a former Senator and founder of CITY-TV in Toronto and other electronic and print enterprises in Canada, the U.S., Europe and Latin America. He retired from the Senate when he turned 75 — the mandatory retirement age — on Jan. 2.

Heard, a media consultant with major corporate clients, was White House correspondent and Managing Editor of the Montreal Star, editor of the London Observer News Service, and head of Global TV News, which is also owned by Canwest.

Wajsman, is editor of Quebec’s largest English-language weekly, publisher of the bilingual journal of political commentary, The Metropolitan, and was the producer and host of a Montreal radio news magazine program.

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The 2010 census couldn’t have come at a better time for the U.S. economy.

The government will hire about 1.2 million temporary workers in the first half of the year to administer the decennial population count, possibly providing a bridge to gains in private employment later in the year.

The surge will probably dwarf any hiring by private employers early in 2010 as companies delay adding staff until they are convinced the economic recovery will be sustained. Money earned by the clipboard-toting workers going door-to-door to verify the government population survey is likely to be spent, giving the economy an extra lift.

“It’s a short-term stimulus program in which the government’s injecting money into the economy through additional paychecks,” said Dean Maki, chief U.S. economist at Barclays Capital Inc. in New York, who projects that 2.5 million more Americans will be working at the end of the year. “This will support consumer income during those months.”

Payrolls unexpectedly fell 85,000 last month, a Labor Department report showed today, and revisions showed they increased by 4,000 in November, the first gain in almost two years. Service industries, which include banks, insurance companies, restaurants and retailers, subtracted 4,000 workers after adding 62,000 the previous month.

The economy will add 1.1 million jobs by the end of the year, according to the consensus estimate in a survey last month by Blue Chip Economic Indicators.

“We have the strongest increases in the second half of the year,” said Nigel Gault, chief U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts, referring to the firm’s forecast for hiring to grow by 800,000 this year.

Third Quarter

Economists’ payroll estimates for the year exclude the census numbers since the jobs created are temporary, with most disappearing by the end of the third quarter and the rest gone by December.

The stimulus bill President Barack Obama signed in February and additional funding by Congress provided enough money to hire 1.4 million Americans in total for the census, almost three times as many as in 2000 easy online payday loans. About 160,000 were already employed last year to do preliminary work.

The Census Bureau anticipates hiring about 181,000 workers from January through March and about 971,000 in the following three months.

First Five Months

The economy may add about 700,000 jobs in May alone, mostly because of the census, Gault said. Even Maki’s more optimistic assessment of the employment outlook means the U.S. may take years to recover the 7.2 million jobs lost since the recession began in December 2007.

“The bulk of these employees are from the low end of the income distribution; they are cash-constrained,” said Neal Soss, chief economist at Credit Suisse in New York who forecasts the economy will add a little more than 1 million jobs this year. “Having a paycheck is allowing them to spend in a way that they wouldn’t otherwise.”

Hiring for the census may also help lower the unemployment rate early this year, economists said, though the influence will be less than in payrolls. For example, some of the people hired may have other part-time jobs, limiting the impact on joblessness.

By the end of the year the jobless rate will fall to 9.7 percent, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The unemployment in December held at 10 percent.

Optimistic Outlook

Bruce Kasman, chief economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York, is among those optimistic about the outlook for jobs early in the year with or without the help from the census.

“We think it’s going to ramp up pretty quickly,” he said. Kasman forecasts the economy will create more than 2 million jobs this year.

Other economists anticipate a labor market weakness will persist through the next six months, even taking into account the census hiring.

“The labor market will effectively be stalled through the first half of 2010,” said James Shugg, a senior economist at Westpac Banking Corp. in London.

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After surging 10% in October, sales of existing homes jumped again in November, growing 7.4% compared with October to an annualized rate of 6.54 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors.

"This clearly is a rush of first-time buyers not wanting to miss out on the tax credit," said NAR’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun.

November was originally going to be the last month in which sales to first-time homebuyers would qualify for a federal tax credit of up to $8,000. However, that deadline was extended through June.

In addition, the tax credit was expanded to cover people who already own a home. They can qualify for a $6,500 tax credit if purchase a new house before the end of June. That should encourage "trade-up" buyers.

The strength of sales in November surprised the industry. A panel of experts compiled by Briefing.com had forecast month-over-month sales growth of just 2.5% to 6.25 million from 6.1 million a month earlier.

The sales total was also a huge improvement over a year ago. Sales rose 45.7% over the paltry annualized rate of 4.49 million units during November 2008.

The contribution made by first-time buyers is evident in a separate survey NAR conducted of its members. They estimate that 51% of sales in November were by newcomers to the market, up a point from 50% in October. Normally, first timers account for about 40% of sales.

Also propelling sales higher were rock-bottom interest rates. The average for a 30-year, fixed-rate loan during the month was just 4.88%, down from 4.95% in October and 6.09% a year ago.

With rates that much lower, homebuyers can save more than $150 a month on a $200,000 mortgage.

The industry expects home sales to slacken December, partially because of the tax credit’s originally scheduled demise. That caused some buyers to push up their closing, stealing sales from December.

However, sales will not fall off a cliff, though, according to Walter Molony, a NAR spokesman payday loans with no faxing. "The psychology seems to be turning around," he said. "Potential buyers, who had been staying on the fence, now believe we’re at or near the market bottom."

One X-factor, however, is the vast numbers of homes that may come to market over the next few months. There is a large "shadow inventory" — homes owned by banks and mortgage companies — that have not yet been put up for sale. It could be as many as 1.7 million units, according to First American CoreLogic.

In addition, another spate of foreclosures could be hitting the market as a number of option-ARM mortgages are set to default.

All that may drive prices down, according to Shari Olefson, author of "Foreclosure Nation: Mortgaging the American Dream." And the impact of these renewed price declines could again alter the market psychology.

"People think that prices have bottomed," she said. "I don’t think they have. People will see price declines and that will discourage them from buying."

Mike Larson, a real estate analyst with Weiss Research has preached all through the bust that price declines are what will "fix" the housing crisis.

"We needed to see prices fall to make ownership competitive with renting again, and to restore the normal relationship of house prices to income," he said. "That has now happened and you’re seeing buyers come out of the woodwork as a result."

Still, they will have to come out in large numbers to offset the inventory overhang in some of the worst markets, according to Olefson. In the Florida condo market, for example, there is a 35-to-40 month supply of units at the current rates of sale, she said.

Prices still almost certainly have further to fall. 

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Colorado research biotech Array BioPharma Inc. has reached a deal with industry giant Amgen Inc. that gives $60 million to Array and separately funds research jobs at the company.

The Boulder-based company licensed continued development of an experimental Type II diabetes drug, ARRY-403, to Amgen in exchange for the $60 million up front. Amgen also agreed to pay for an undisclosed number of research jobs at Array for two years.

Array BioPharm will complete the Phase I trial it started this year on ARRY-403, testing its safety and dosing in people for the first time. Under the licensing arrangement, Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based Amgen, will conduct future testing and development of the drug.

Under the terms of the deal, Array BioPharma retains the right to co-promote the drug in the United States, if ARRY-403 makes it to market. It will also make royalties on future sales of ARRY-403 that Amgen makes, the companies announced Monday evening.

With 390 employees, Array is second in size only to Amgen among Colorado’s commercial biotech drug employers, and the largest one based in the state. Amgen employs about 900 people in Boulder County.

Array researchers struck upon developing "glucokinase activator" compounds for treating diabetes in 2005 Same day payday loans. ARRY-403, the leading drug resulting from the research, is hoped to be a once-a-day pill that helps the body modulate glucose levels in the blood and increases the production of insulin, a process that doesn’t work properly in diabetics.

"Amgen is a leading innovator of important new therapies, with a focus on the treatment of severe, chronic diseases, and we believe that this collaboration indicates the significant potential of our glucokinase activator program," said Array CEO Robert Conway in a press release.

A trio of former Amgen scientists launched Array BioPharma in 1998 after Amgen closed some of its Boulder labs there. Array started with 25 employees and grew by researching potential drug compounds — primarily potential cancer treatments — for other biotechs.

ARRY-403 is among the first generation of treatments Array started developing for itself.

The Amgen deal helps Array end the year with positive news after it laid off 40 employees in January and scaled back its research focus.

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There will be mixed feelings within the University at Buffalo athletic department following the dpearture of head football coach Turner Gill to the University of Kansas.

The Bulls will be sorry to see the coach who lifted the program from the depths of Division I-A to a conference champion depart. Yet, Gill's exit to the Big 12 school is testament to the job he did at UB.

Gill will be officially introduced as the Kansas coach Monday after accepting the Jayhawks' offer over the weekend. UB, meanwhile, has elevated offensive coordinator Danny Barrett to interim head coach while launching a national search for a successor to Gill.

“Today is a day that creates many mixed feelings,” said a statement from Director of Athletics Warde Manuel. “I am saddened to see Turner leave us as he has done an absolutely fantastic job of building our football program to unprecedented success upon a value system that we can all be proud of. That being said, I am extremely happy for Turner and his family that they have been granted this opportunity Low fee payday loans.”

He added that Barrett is a candidate for the UB position and is the only internal staff member that will be considered.

Gill led Buffalo to its first Division I conference championship and bowl appearance in the program’s history when the Bulls won the Mid-American Conference championship game in 2008 and later played in the International Bowl in Toronto. The Bulls compiled an overall record of 20-30 during Gill’s tenure, including a 14-18 record in the MAC, after recording a 7-49 record in their first seven seasons in the league prior to his arrival.

Gill was named the 23rd head coach in school history on Dec. 16, 2005, taking over a program that had won just 10 games in its first seven years as a Division I-A member.

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A surge in pre-holiday listings was blamed for troubles with eBay Inc.'s search system for much of the weekend.

The problem began Saturday morning when shoppers began noticing that they couldn't find items for sale using eBay's search in the U.S. and some overseas marketplaces.

The company reported the problem at 11:17 a.m. on Saturday in a note on its site, but eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) reported full service was restored by Sunday afternoon.

The company said that it saw a 33 percent increase in live listings, compared to last year, which triggered its weekend problems.

Ebay further said full credits for all affected items will be issued for this title search outage, according to its outage policy, referring users to its page here fast payday loans.

President Lorrie Norrington issued an apology, saying, "We know this is a really busy time for sellers ramping up for the holiday season. We’re sorry that this technical issue occurred, causing search to return limited or no results throughout the day Saturday, and we regret any potential impact to your business."

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The number of first-time filers for unemployment insurance rose last week, snapping two weeks of significant declines, according to a government report issued Thursday.

There were 531,000 initial jobless claims filed in the week ended Oct. 17, up 11,000 from an upwardly revised 520,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said in a weekly report. The week included the Columbus Day holiday.

A consensus estimate of economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected 515,000 new claims.

"[The initial claims figure] is somewhat surprising," wrote Jim Baird analyst at Plante Moran Financial Advisors, in a research note. "Excess slack in the system and employers’ hesitance to ramp up hiring appear likely to weigh on the labor markets for some time."

The 4-week moving average of initial claims was 532,250, down 750 from the previous week’s revised average of 533,000.

New jobless claims had declined for five of the last six weeks, falling sharply in the first two weeks of October. Earlier this month, initial claims fell to their lowest level since January.

Continuing claims: The government said 5,923,000 people filed continuing claims in the week ended Oct. 10, the most recent data available. That was down 98,000 from the preceding week’s ongoing claims, and would — if not revised — mark the first time since late March that continuing claims were below 6 million.

The 4-week moving average for ongoing claims fell by 59,250 to 6,030,750, from the prior week’s revised average of 6,090,000.

But the slide in continuing claims may signal that more filers are falling off those rolls and into extended benefits.

Continuing claims reflect people filing each week after their initial claim until the end of their standard benefits, which usually last 26 weeks. The figures do not include those who have moved to state or federal extensions, nor people who have exhausted their benefits.

Unemployment benefits. As more and more unemployed Americans find themselves with expired benefits, Congress is wrestling with legislation that would extend their lifeline. The House has approved a jobless benefits extension, but the Senate has not yet voted on it.

Earlier this month, Senate Democrats introduced a bill that would extend unemployment benefits by up to 14 weeks in every state. Those living in states with unemployment levels greater than 8.5% would receive a further six weeks.

Currently, states with rates above 8% now offer up to 79 weeks of benefits. States with rates between 6% and 8% now offer up to 59 weeks, and all other states currently offer up to 46 weeks.

State-by-state data: Only one state reported a decline in initial claims of more than 1,000 for the week ended Oct. 10, the most recent data available. Claims in California fell by 7,062, which a state-supplied comment attributed to fewer layoffs in the construction, trade, service and manufacturing sectors.

Eighteen states said that claims increased by more than 1,000. Florida reported the most new claims at 9,976; New York’s jumped by 5,411; Wisconsin saw a rise of 4,999; Indiana’s increased by 4,977; and Maryland’s rose by 2,783.

Outlook: Although experts expect the U.S. economy grew in the third quarter, Plante Moran analyst Baird said Thursday’s report leaves him concerned about future jobless figures.

"Despite the relatively steady improvement in weekly claims since April, this also suggests that the employment market remains weak," Baird said.

As "stimulative programs" like Cash for Clunkers and the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit wind down, Baird said, the labor market could face even further pressure in the months ahead.

"We remain cautious about the outlook moving forward when … [these programs] are no longer factors," Baird said. 

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The Goldman Sachs steamroller keeps chugging along.

The big investment bank posted a $3.2 billion quarterly profit Thursday, crushing Wall Street estimates for the third straight quarter.

New York-based Goldman (GS, Fortune 500) made $5.25 a share, up from $1.81 a year ago and well above the $4.24 analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were forecasting.

Goldman cited another strong quarter in its trading business, which has rebounded since the last half of 2008, when financial markets crumbled.

Revenue at the fixed income, currency and commodities business soared to $6 billion from $1.6 billion a year ago, while equities trading revenue soared to $1.85 billion from $354 million a year earlier.

"We are seeing improving conditions and evidence of stabilization, even growth, across a number of sectors," said CEO Lloyd C. Blankfein, in a statement.

Bonus pool keeps growing: But those profits don’t come without public-relations issues.

The giant quarterly gain allowed Goldman to set aside $5.4 billion for employee compensation — bringing its bonus pool to $16.7 billion through Sept. 30.

To critics, that number cries out for a reassessment of Goldman’s priorities. Some small Goldman shareholders are sponsoring resolutions at next year’s shareholder meeting that would have the board review the firm’s pay practices.

"As prudent investors, we have a responsibility here to act as the conscience of Wall Street, especially when it fails to do so on its own," Laura Berry, executive director of the Interfaith Council on Corporate Responsibility, said in a statement Wednesday. "How is it possible that the year after billions of taxpayer dollars helped companies like Goldman Sachs return to financial health, this company shows absolutely no restraint?"

Blankfein last month said public anger over giant pay packages at money-losing firms is "understandable and appropriate." He stopped short of critiquing the pay practices at Goldman, where his compensation has routinely run to the tens of millions of dollars and the average employee is on track this year for an annual payout in the high six digits.

The money Goldman set aside for compensation through the first nine months of the year works out to an average of $526,814 for each of its 31,700 workers.

If the firm produces the strong fourth quarter Wall Street expects — analysts at Deutsche Bank are forecasting a $3.6 billion profit and $4.4 billion in compensation costs — average compensation could hit $662,000.

That’s in line with the firm’s payout in the record profit year of 2007, which closed before the global recession started in earnest.

David Viniar, Goldman’s chief financial officer, said in response to repeated questions on a conference call with reporters Thursday morning that Goldman wouldn’t make compensation decisions until year-end. He said Goldman would weigh the firm’s performance as well as the economic climate and the market for top Wall Street workers.

"We’re giving it a lot of thought," Viniar said. "We are very focused on what’s going on in the world, but we want to be fair to our people, who have done a remarkably good job throughout the crisis."

Risk reduction: Goldman’s profits came with a reduction in risk, judging by one estimate of the amount the firm could lose in a given trading day. Goldman’s value at risk dropped to $208 million in the third quarter, from $245 million in the second quarter. Value at risk was $181 million in the year-ago third quarter.

The biggest reason for the decline in risk was a drop in the amount Goldman had riding on changes in interest rates. The firm stood to lose as much as $159 million on a given trading day in that area in the third quarter, down from $205 million in the second quarter.

Meanwhile, the firm’s exposure to losses on stock trading climbed to $74 million from $60 million in the second quarter.

Thursday’s report comes on the heels of another strong quarter from the banking world’s other standout performer, JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500). Its shares rose 3% Wednesday to a 52-week high after the New York-based bank said third-quarter profit rose sixfold.

Goldman shares are up 131% for the year, and are closing in on the $200 level for the first time since May 2008, as investors bet the firm’s rebound from last fall’s near collapse will continue. Shares were down 2% in early trading Thursday.

"The outlook for capital markets activity is mostly favorable for the industry, and even more favorable for Goldman Sachs given their positioning and recent market share gains," analysts at Deutsche Bank wrote in a note to clients last week. The firm rates Goldman stock a buy and has done underwriting work for the company.

While last fall’s financial meltdown nearly brought down the global financial system, survivors like Goldman and JPMorgan have indeed prospered, thanks to the reduced competition and taxpayer support that followed. In addition to receiving multibillion-dollar Treasury loans that they have since repaid, both firms have benefited from taxpayer-subsidized funding via a federal debt guarantee program.

Goldman has paid back the $10 billion in bailout funds it received from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). But it was among the biggest recipients of taxpayer funds in last September’s rescue of AIG (AIG, Fortune 500).

Goldman has also, in the aftermath of last year’s implosion of onetime rivals Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, enjoyed the market perception that the government has judged it too big to fail — leaning on what Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff has called "the invisible wallet of the taxpayer." 

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Singapore should return to a policy of allowing the currency to strengthen once the economy recovers from its deepest recession since independence in 1965, the International Monetary Fund said.

“Further along the recovery path, a tightening stance would be warranted to safeguard price stability, through targeting a trend appreciation,” the Washington-based lender said in a statement on its Web site dated yesterday. Singapore’s current monetary policy is “broadly appropriate,” it said.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore, which manages inflation solely through its exchange rate, said in April it would adjust the trading range for the island’s dollar, a move economists say was a de facto devaluation of the currency. The central bank will next review its policy in October, it said in an e-mailed response to questions from Bloomberg today.

“Given that we are at an early phase of the global economic recovery, it makes sense for the MAS to keep its neutral policy until next year’s review,” said Irene Cheung, director of local-markets trading at ABN Amro Bank NV in Singapore. “If things improve, the Singapore dollar can still trade at a stronger level within its currency band instant payday loans.”

The Singapore dollar rose 0.3 percent to S$1.4399 against the U.S. currency at 11:55 a.m. local time, paring yesterday’s loss. It has gained 0.5 percent since the end of June, according to Bloomberg data.

Strong Fundamentals

The IMF, in its report known as an Article IV Consultation, said Singapore’s economic fundamentals remain strong and its financial system can withstand a deeper slowdown.

The island’s gross domestic product may shrink 7.7 percent this year and expand 2.5 percent in 2010, the IMF said. Singapore’s government expects a contraction of 4 percent to 6 percent this year.

“Directors considered monetary policy settings to be broadly appropriate, supporting domestic demand without undermining exchange-rate stability,” the IMF said.

Asia’s economies are experiencing a “policy-led recovery” from the global recession, James McCormack, managing director and head of Asia sovereigns at Fitch Ratings, said at a conference in Singapore today.

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