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For all the right reasons, John Higdon bought into the dream of being the first in his immediate family to earn an undergraduate degree.

"All through high school and college, I thought, ‘I’ll get this piece of paper and it will open up doors that weren’t open to my parents, because they didn’t go to college,’" Higdon, 24, said over a cup of coffee last week.

Instead of opening wide, however, the door cracked after Higdon earned his bachelor’s in finance from Missouri State University in December 2008.

"I’m not where I thought I’d be almost a year after graduating," said Higdon.

Nor are thousands of others in the classes of 2008-09, who marched from the commencement stage into the teeth of the worst job market since the Great Depression.

Higdon did manage to land a job in his chosen field.

But earning a commission cold-calling potential commercial insurance clients is a far cry from employment as an analyst with a prominent financial or investment firm in the St. Louis area — the objective the Hannibal, Mo., native set for himself as an undergraduate.

Nor did his short-term goal include a plan to stay afloat financially by moonlighting behind a bar a few nights a week.

"That’s the norm now," he said. "All my buddies (from Missouri State) are working two jobs, too."

Adding insult to the insult of dual employment that netted him less than $20,000 in 2009 are the bills now coming due: The $315 monthly payments on his $42,000 student loan.

His college education, Higdon said dryly, "is definitely not paying dividends right now."

His won’t be the only one, according to some experts. Look for an exponential increase in the ranks of underemployed graduates struggling to cover an education they hoped would boost their earning potential, said Richard Vedder, an economics professor at Ohio University and executive director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity. "It’s going to be a long-running crisis independent of the recession," Vedder predicted in a telephone interview from his office in Athens, Ohio.

The economic downturn, he continued, "exacerbates the fact that beginning salaries are lower and the ratio of the amount of (student) loans to those salaries is getting higher and higher. When that happens, you’re getting into problems."

The lag in processing comprehensive higher education data makes it impossible to know how many underemployed 2008-09 graduates are wrangling with student debt.

But the U.S. Department of Education announced in September that the default rate, 6.7 percent, was already on the rise in 2007 — a year before the recession took hold.

More and more students, Vedder said, are deferring payment (and incurring additional debt) by pursuing advanced degrees. The latest statistics from the Council of Graduate Schools bear him out.

From 2007 to 2008, the council said, first-time graduate school enrollment among U.S. students jumped nearly 5 percent — the largest increase since 2002 — according to its survey of schools serving 1.7 million grad students in 2008.

John Drenkhahn of Collinsville opted for graduate school after evaluating the odds of getting a job in electrical engineering following his 2008 graduation from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville.

"If I hadn’t gone back to school, I would have been competing with other (graduates) along with (experienced) people," said Drenkhahn, 25, who planned to graduate this summer.

While the market hasn’t improved much for graduates, Drenkhahn’s decision appears to have paid off: He landed a job.

"They agreed I’m a little overqualified in terms of education for this position," said Drenkhahn, who will handle customer support for a technical product sold by a company he did not want to name.

Although the master’s degree may not have been the difference in getting the job, Drenkhahn said he found the education useful and expects the advanced degree will help as he tries to move up the ladder. He said his new employer indicated there may be opportunities for advancement.

"That’s all I’m looking for," Drenkhahn said. "That’s all anybody who is graduating right now is looking for."

He said he was thankful to find a job with a local company. Otherwise, he was prepared to expand his search outside the area where he has lived his entire life.

Higdon, meanwhile, is staying put.

He and his girlfriend, a teacher, recently scraped together the down payment on a small condo in Valley Park. A wedding, Higdon said, will start taking shape once his employment situation is settled.

A year into the business, Higdon doesn’t rule out continuing in the insurance field, perhaps as a broker.

As he considers his options, Higdon’s eyes are on two components of the employment market — job openings in the local financial sector and the influx of graduates poised to compete for those positions.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers reports the job outlook for the Class of ‘10 is slightly better than it was for the two preceding classes. Then again, it couldn’t get any worse than 2009, when campus hiring dropped more 20 percent from the year before.

Higdon hopes there’s room in the slightly improved market for him.

"I know it’s a matter of timing, but it’s also a matter of increasing costs," he said. "I didn’t go to Dartmouth or Harvard, I went to a school that cost about $13,000 a year. I thought it was affordable, but it doesn’t pay for itself if your job prospects are poor."

Michele Munz of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.

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Tyson Foods and the League of United Latin American Citizens are donating 15 tons of meat and other protein-rich food to Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida.

The more than 30,000 pounds of meat donated Feb. 12 will be distributed to partner agencies in six counties and are part of Tyson’s and LULAC’s three-year commitment to fight hunger.

The new donation brings Tyson’s total in-kind donations since 2000 to more than 71 million pounds.

“Donations of poultry and other high protein foods are especially valuable as they allow us to provide our member agencies with more healthy, nutritious options,” said Dave Krepcho, president and CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. “Every year, our agencies are seeing an increase in need. This significant donation will help local agencies feed our many hungry neighbors.”

S 2010 study on hunger in Central Florida showed there was a 152 percent increase in people receiving food assistance since 2006. Approximately 54,000 Central Floridians are in need of food assistance each week business card.

Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida is a member of Feeding America, which is the largest charitable domestic hunger-relief organization in the U.S. It serves about 500 agencies that feed the hungry throughout Central Florida, providing enough food for 14 million meals annually.

The League of United Latin American Citizens has approximately 115,000 members throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. It is the largest and oldest Hispanic organization, advocating for Latino civil rights, in the United States.

Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN), based in Springdale, Ark., is one of the world’s largest processors and marketers of chicken, beef and pork, the second-largest food production company in the Fortune 500 and a member of the S&P 500. It provides products and services to customers throughout the United States and more than 90 countries with approximately 117,000 employees at more than 400 facilities and offices worldwide.

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"Avatar" kept its stranglehold on the top spot in the domestic box office as it passed the $2 billion mark in worldwide gross, according to Box Office Mojo, a Web site that tracks box-office revenues.

The movie also continued to close in on one of the few box-office records it has not yet attained — all-time biggest domestic gross, which is still held by "Titanic."

During the weekend, the top five grossing movies, along with their studio estimates, were:

• "Avatar" from 20th Century Fox — $30 million
• "Edge of Darkness" from Warner Bros. — $17.12 million
• "When in Rome" from Disney — $12.065 million
• "The Tooth Fairy" from 20th Century Fox — $10 million
• "The Book of Eli" from Warner Bros. — $8.77 million

The weekend marked the seventh-straight weekend that "Avatar" was number one at the box office.

Of the top five, "Edge of Darkness" and "When in Rome" were in their first weekends in theaters. According to a report from Box Office Mojo, "Edge of Darkness" was shown on about 3,600 screens at 3,066 site, and "When in Rome" was shown on about 2,600 screens at 2,456 sites.

On the all-time domestic gross list, "Avatar" has pulled in $594,472,000, second to "Titanic's" $600,788,188, which "Avatar" should pass this weekend.

"Avatar" also climbed the list of all-time domestic grosses, taking inflation into account. The movie was 26th on that list last week and 21st this week. To break into the top 20, "Avatar" will need to pass Disney's "Fantasia," which has an adjusted gross of $619,504,300.

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Consumer credit in the U.S. dropped a record $17.5 billion in November as unemployment close to a 26- year high discouraged borrowing and banks limited access to loans.

The slump in credit to $2.46 trillion was more than anticipated and followed a revised $4.2 billion drop in October, Federal Reserve figures showed today in Washington. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News projected a decrease of $5 billion. The figures track credit card debt and non-revolving loans, such as those to buy autos.

A labor market that’s shed 7.2 million jobs since the recession started in December 2007 is restraining consumer spending that accounts for about 70 percent of the economy. Fed policy makers have said tighter bank lending standards and reductions in credit lines are hampering the recovery.

“Double-digit unemployment is eroding consumer confidence and the uncertainty is prompting consumers to pay down their credit card debts,” said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York. “We have not seen such a wholesale reduction in consumer credit since the last time we had double-digit unemployment rate following the early ‘80s recessions.”

The series of 10 straight declines in consumer credit was the longest since record-keeping began in 1943.

Treasury two-year notes gained the most in three weeks after the Labor Department said today that companies reduced payrolls in December by 85,000 workers after adding 4,000 a month earlier. The unemployment rate held at 10 percent.

Stocks, Yields

Two-year Treasury yields dropped below 1 percent, to 0.97 percent at 4:52 p.m. in New York, from 1.02 percent late yesterday.

Consumer credit in October was revised from a previously reported $3.5 billion decline, and the forecast for November was based on the median of 32 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. Projections ranged from decreases of $2 billion to $10 billion. Credit dropped at an 8.5 percent annual rate in November.

Revolving debt, such as credit cards, plunged by a record $13.7 billion in November, the Fed’s statistics showed. Non- revolving debt, including loans for autos and mobile homes, declined by $3.8 billion. The Fed’s report doesn’t cover borrowing secured by real estate.

Auto sales in the U.S. climbed in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 10.92 million, up from 10.45 million in October. The pace increased to 11.23 million in December, the strongest since 14.09 million in August, when Americans took advantage of government incentives.

Consumer Spending

Consumer spending increased in November for the sixth time in seven months as Americans took advantage of discounts during the holidays, Commerce Department figures showed Dec fast payday loans. 23. Faster growth in sales and improvement in households’ balance sheets depends on job creation.

“U.S. consumer credit quality remains under considerable stress due to persistently weak labor market conditions,” said Michael Dean, managing director at Fitch Ratings. A report from Fitch on Jan. 5 showed delinquent balances on credit cards at a record level.

At American Express Co., defaults and delinquencies fell to 2009 lows. AmEx was the only one of the “Big 6” credit-card issuers to post November declines in write-offs and delinquencies, the New York-based lender said in a Dec. 15 regulatory filing.

Bank of America Corp. Chief Executive Officer Brian T. Moynihan has said the largest U.S. lender needs to reduce the loss rate on credit cards, which ranked highest among the nation’s six biggest card companies in November. Bank of America’s card defaults are “still very high,” Moynihan, 50, said.

‘Significant Bubble’

“As an industry, we over-lent and customers over-borrowed, and that led to a fairly significant bubble,” Moynihan said Jan. 4 in an interview on Bloomberg Television in Raleigh, North Carolina. “We have to help lead the economic recovery. At the same time, we have to be responsible lenders.”

Banks have responded by tightening credit standards, for consumers and companies. Fed Governor Elizabeth Duke said in a Jan. 4 speech that total loans on banks’ books fell at an annual rate of more than 11 percent in the third quarter. While banks are reducing lines of credit and tightening lending standards, small businesses are also losing their business relationships with banks as firms fail, merge or reduce their loan portfolios, Duke said.

Broken Relationships

“When existing lending relationships are broken, time may be required for other banks to establish and build such relationships, allowing lending to resume,” Duke said.

Britt Beemer, chairman of consumer polling firm America’s Research Group, said in a Dec. 21 interview that if lenders weren’t cutting customer spending limits and rejecting more credit-card applications, holiday sales would have been stronger.

December same-store sales climbed 3 percent, the biggest gain since April 2008, Retail Metrics Inc. said yesterday in an e-mailed statement.

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Consumer spending in the U.S. probably rose in November for the sixth time in seven months as households took advantage of holiday discounting.

Purchases increased 0.7 percent for a second consecutive month, according to the median estimate of 72 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The report may also show incomes grew by the most in six months. Confidence and new-home sales probably also climbed, other reports may show.

Retailers such as Best Buy Co. are cutting prices on some items to help Americans overcome the worst employment slump in the post-World War II era and mounting foreclosures. Growing sales indicate consumers will contribute to, rather than hold back, the economic expansion in coming months.

“The U.S. consumer is mounting a comeback.,” said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial in New York. “Despite a 10 percent unemployment rate, credit restrictions and political uncertainty, spending is growing again.”

The Commerce Department’s report is due at 8:30 a.m. in Washington. Estimates in the Bloomberg survey ranged from gains of 0.4 percent to 0.9 percent.

The report may also show incomes rose 0.5 percent last month, the biggest gain since May, according to the survey median. Estimates ranged from increases of 0.2 percent to 0.8 percent.

Auto dealers are among retailers seeing demand improve long after the government’s so called cash-for-clunkers plan expired. Cars and light trucks sold at a 10.9 million unit annual pace last month, up from a 10.5 million pace in October. Sales slumped in September, the month after the trade-in incentive ended.

More Discounting

Best Buy, the largest U.S. electronics retailer, is promoting notebook computers and $299 flat-screen televisions to lure consumers. As a result, the Richfield, Minnesota-based company will see its gross margin decline by as much as 1 percentage point in the fourth quarter, Chief Executive Officer Brian Dunn said on a Dec. 15 conference call with analysts.

The labor market remains a hurdle. The jobless rate is projected to exceed 10 percent through the first half of next year. Payrolls fell by 11,000 last month, bringing total job losses to 7.2 million since the recession began in December 2007, the most of any contraction since the Great Depression.

Consumer Confidence

Stock-market gains are boosting optimism among Americans. The Reuters/University of Michigan final reading on consumer sentiment for December, due about 10 a.m., is projected to climb to 73.8, its highest level since January 2008.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index yesterday closed at the highest level in almost 15 months after existing home sales in November topped forecasts. The National Association of Realtors said sales of previously owned houses rose 7.4 percent from the prior month to an annual pace of 6.54 million, the highest level in almost three years.

Another report from the Commerce Department today, due at 10 a.m., is forecast to show purchases of new homes rose 1.9 percent to a 438,000 annual pace last month, the highest level since August 2008, according to the survey median.

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The Toronto stock market ended Friday in negative territory as weakness in base metals and materials edged out gold and better-than-expected earnings from BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion Ltd.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed 9.66 points lower to 11,463.40 in a volatile session that slipped into the red during the final hour on high volume trading.

The Canadian dollar was ahead 0.38 of a cent to 93.81 cents (U.S.)

Pulling the index lower was weakness in the base metals sector, which fell 1.4 per cent with HudBay Minerals down nearly 9 per cent to $12.83 (Canadian).

The materials sector also dropped 0.8 per cent with shares in Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan 6 per cent lower to $112.00 on concerns about potash prices.

Soleil Securities downgraded the company’s stock to "sell" from "hold" on weakening prices, particularly in China.

On the upside, gold stocks were up 0.9 per cent as the February bullion contract closed $4.10 (U.S.) higher to $1,111.50 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The TSX energy sector slipped 0.9 per cent as reports surfaced from the Iraqi government that an oil well had been taken over by a group of armed Iranians. The February crude contract gained 34 cents to close at $74 personal loan for poor credit.42, while the less active January contract ended 71 cents higher to $73.36.

RIM, a heavyweight on the Toronto Stock Exchange’s main index, was ahead 10 per cent after managing to beat expectations in an earnings report issued after the closing bell Thursday. The TSX Venture Exchange was up 9.05 to 1,430.20.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrials rose 20.63 points to 10,328.89. The Nasdaq composite index was up 31.64 points to 2,211.69, while the S&P 500 index increased 6.31 points to 1,102.39.

Statistics Canada said wholesale sales edged up 0.3 per cent to $41.1 billion (Canadian) in October, the fourth increase in five months.

Drugmaker Patheon said its fourth-quarter earnings were $4.6 million, down from a year-ago profit of $37.3 million. The Canadian company’s shares rose five cents to $2.47.

Bombardier Transportation signed a $138 million contract with a Chinese rail company to provide metro cars and training. Its shares closed up five cents at $4.78.

From the Star’s wire services

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The euro is poised to decline to a three-month low of $1.4446, Gaitame.com Research Institute Ltd. said, citing trading patterns.

The 16-nation currency, which climbed to a one-year high of $1.5144 last month, has entered a near-term downtrend as the spot price has fallen below its 60-day moving average, said Tsuyoshi Okada, managing director at the research unit of Japan’s largest foreign-exchange margin dealer in Tokyo.

“The charts are now showing signs of change for the euro, and herald an end of its rising trend,” Okada said. “Should the decline of the euro gain traction, the immediate target will be mid-$1.46 and the next target will be the $1.4446 level.”

The euro traded at $1.4732 as of 9:34 a.m. in Tokyo from $1.4732 yesterday in New York. The currency has declined 2 no fax cash advance.7 percent since reaching a 15-month high on Nov. 25.

The single currency last traded below $1.4446 on Sept. 8. “This level has served as a key resistance level for the euro’s rising trend that began early this year and lasted until August,” Okada said. A resistance level is where sell orders may be clustered.

The euro’s 60-day moving average was $1.4844 yesterday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The currency remained above the average from Aug. 19 until Dec. 4.

In technical analysis, investors and analysts study chart of trading patterns and prices to forecast price changes in a security, commodity, currency or index.

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Americans are inking a lot of deals to buy homes.

In October the National Association of Realtors recorded an unprecedented ninth consecutive month of increases in the number of signed contracts.

Although these are not closed sales, and some deals can fall through, signed contracts are a good indicator of where the housing market is headed.

Between September and October NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index rose 3.7% to 114.1 from 110 in October. But the index is 31.8% higher than a year ago, when it was 86.6. That’s the biggest year-over-year gain in the history of the index.

The PHSI is also at its highest level since March 2006, and the rise confounded expert expectations. A panel of industry analysts put together by Briefing.com had forecast a 1% drop in new contracts.

NAR’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun, gives much of the credit for increased sales to the homebuyer’s tax credit, which first-time homebuyers could claim to reduce their taxes by up to $8,000.

"The tax credit is helping unleash a pent-up demand from a large pool of financially qualified renters, much more than borrowing sales from the future," Yun said in a prepared statement.

The credit had been due to lapse on Dec. 1, so many October buyers may have acted to get in under the wire.

However, the credit has been extended through the middle of 2010 and expanded to include many move-up buyers. The housing industry hopes that will keep sales perking until the economy picks up and markets return to a more normal condition.

In a related story, the Census Bureau reported that private residential construction spending surged 3.9% during October.

Yun cautioned, however, that housing market indicators, such as pending sales, may weaken over the next few months.

"The expanded tax credit has only been available for the past three weeks, but the time between when buyers start looking at homes until they close on a sale can take anywhere from three to five months," he said.

"Given the lag time, we could see a temporary decline in closed existing home sales from December until early spring when we get another surge," he added. "But the weak job market remains a major concern and could slow the recovery process."

The good news is that number of homes on the market has declined, removing some of the bloat that has depressed prices. There is now a seven month supply of homes on the market at the current rate of sale. which is down from 10.2 months a year ago. Yun predicted that housing conditions could return to near normal and home prices firm up by mid-2010.

"That would mean broad wealth stabilization for the vast number of middle-class families," he said. 

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Some positive American economic data and higher commodity prices pushed the Toronto stock market higher Wednesday.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 52.8 points to 11,592.4 after across the board weakness pushed the main index down 84 points on Tuesday.

The U.S. Commerce Department reported that consumer spending rose a brisk 0.7 per cent last month, following a 0.6 per cent pullback in September.

Incomes, the fuel for future spending, rose 0.2 per cent for the second straight month.

The Canadian dollar was up 0.98 of a cent to 95.5 cents US. Currency analysts at Scotiabank said the rise was due to news that the Russian central bank is preparing to invest some of its foreign exchange reserves in the loonie. No amount has been confirmed.

The gold sector was the best TSX performer, up almost one per cent as the December bullion contract on the Nymex continued to head higher into record territory, up $13.50 to US$1,179.30 an ounce. Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX: ABX) rose 72 cents to C$46.29.

The base metals sector rose 0.73 per cent amid a three-cent rise in December copper to US$3.14 a pound. Teck Resources (TSX: TCK.B) advanced 38 cents to $36.67.

The financials sector also lent support, up 0.5 per cent. Bank of Montreal (TSX: BMO) rose 41 cents to $53.55 after handing in an earnings report Tuesday that beat expectations.

The energy sector was little changed with the January crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange off two cents to US$76 a barrel after losing ground Tuesday in the wake of soft U.S. economic growth and consumer sentiment data.

The TSX Venture Exchange moved up 19.55 points to 1,427.96.

New York indexes were little changed as investors took in other economic data ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed five points to 10,438.7 after drifting 17 points lower.

The Nasdaq composite index moved 5.4 points higher to 2,174.58 while the S&P index added 0.7 of a point to 1,106.35 as orders for big-ticket factory goods fell unexpectedly by 0.6 per cent in October. But much of the weakness came from an 18.4 per cent drop in orders for goods related to defence. Excluding those, orders for other types of manufactured goods rose 0.4 per cent in October.

Still, the performance was weaker than economists expected. They were forecasting orders for durable goods to grow 0.5 per cent.

Also, the Labour Department said new claims for unemployment insurance fell by 35,000 to 466,000. That's the fewest claims since the week ending Sept. 13, 2008, and was far better than the 500,000 that economists had expected cash advance loans.

Later in the day, the University of Michigan's final report on consumer sentiment for November in expected to be revised up to 67 from a preliminary reading of 66, but will still be below the October reading of 70.6.

Comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve Tuesday also drove investor sentiment as the central bank said the economy's contraction for all of this year won't be as deep as it thought in a forecast released in the summer. Growth next year should turn out slightly better than the Fed previously projected and it also expects slightly lower unemployment.

On the corporate front, farm equipment maker Deere and Co. says big charges and lower sales of farm and construction equipment amid the economic downturn left it with a US$223 million loss for the fourth quarter. Deere says worldwide revenue dropped 28 per cent to US$5.33 billion. Its shares lost 62 cents to US$51.67.

Cossette Inc. (TSX: KOS) is recommending that shareholders reject the latest hostile takeover offer from Cosmos Capital Inc. The Quebec City-based advertising agency says it's not in company's best interests. The amended bid offers $7.87 per Cossette share and is subject to a due diligence condition which Cossette says cannot be satisfied. Its shares were unchanged at $8.02.

QLT Inc. (TSX: QLT) has agreed to pay US$20 million to settle a legal dispute with Massachusetts General Hospital, which had been seeking higher royalty payments from the sale of the Visudyne treatment for age-related blindness. In return for QLT's payment, the Boston-based hospital has agreed to dismiss its claims against the Vancouver-based drug developer. QLT shares ran up 25 cents to $4.23.

Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (TSX: FFH) said Tuesday that it has received preliminary regulatory approval to establish of a new property and casualty insurance company in Brazil. The company plans to carry out its operations across Brazil, in all lines of commercial business, with a primary focus on property, energy, casualty, surety, marine, financial lines, special risks, hull and aviation. Fairfax shares dipped $1.23 to $373.77.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average advanced 0.4 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index advanced 0.8 per cent, and China's Shanghai benchmark rebounded from a big retreat the day before, closing up 2.1 per cent.

London's FTSE 100 index gained 0.74 per cent, Frankfurt's DAX was up 0.73 per cent and the Paris CAC 40 rose one per cent.

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UBS boss Oswald Gruebel set an ambitious target for annual pretax profit of $15 billion, vowing to rebuild the loss-making bank and win back clients after the subprime crisis and a bitter U.S. tax row.

Chief executive Gruebel told investors on Tuesday his new strategic plan was a “revolution” and reaffirmed his commitment to an integrated banking model twinning traditional wealth management strength with a broad investment banking offering.

But, true to the 65-year-old German’s straight-talking reputation, he did not promise overnight miracles for the Swiss bank.

“A transformation like this is not easy. If it was easy I would not be here,” banking veteran Gruebel, seen as a turnaround guru for reviving Swiss rival Credit Suisse, told UBS’s first strategic presentation since his appointment.

The mid-term target would bring UBS slightly above its pre-crisis performance in 2006, and Gruebel said this would be achieved through a new culture of disciplined risk-taking, strict cost and capital control and adherence to regulation.

“There will be three guiding principles: reputation, integration, execution: this is what we will stand for in the market,” Gruebel told a packed Zurich auditorium. “We want to ensure that what has happened to UBS should not happen again.”

Gruebel’s new targets for the next three to five years also include a cost-to-income ratio of 65 to 70 percent compared to 110 percent now, and return on equity of 15 to 20 percent, compared to negative 16 percent.

“The long time horizon for the turnaround could require a lot of patience and nerves of steel from investors direct lender payday loans.” said Kepler analyst Mathias Bueeler.

UBS shares, which have risen 18 percent this year while the wider DJ Stoxx European banking sector has gained nearly 60 percent, were up 0.23 percent at 17.52 Swiss francs at 1226 GMT, outperforming its peers.

The stock has consistently underperformed rivals in 2009 and fell again after UBS posted a larger-than-expected third quarter net loss on November 3 of 564 million francs, the seventh out of eight straight quarters the Swiss bank has been unprofitable.

UBS has not given any guidance for the full year, but while its investment bank has recovered at an operating level, the bank is seen heading for another loss, albeit much smaller than last year’s pretax loss of almost 28 billion francs.

According to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S data, the bank is seen making a pretax profit of 7.7 billion francs in 2010.

RESTORING CLIENT CONFIDENCE KEY

Gruebel, credited with turning around Credit Suisse during his 2002-2007 tenure there, said he wanted UBS to boost its number one position as banker to the super rich and remain the number one bank in Switzerland, while focusing growth on Asia.

UBS, the world’s No. 2 wealth manager with $1.7 trillion in assets and the leader in the super rich space, is suffering client withdrawals across the board. 

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