Labor & Employment

Tiffany & Co. has appointed Ralph Nicoletti as its next EVP and CFO, effective April 2. He steps into the CFO role following current chief operating officer and CFO James N. Fernandez’s plans to retire in July.

Nicoletti will be based in New York and responsible for the company’s worldwide financial functions and information technology. He will report to chairman and CEO Michael J. Kowalski

New York -- Ralph Nicoletti, executive VP and CFO of healthcare services and insurance provider Cigna, will become the next executive VP and CFO of Tiffany & Co. His appointment to those offices will become effective on April 2, 2014.

Bloomington, Minn. -- Mall of America has launched a $325 million expansion project in cooperation with Mortenson, a U.S.-based construction and development services company, Hotel Development LLC, an enterprise of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, and the city of Bloomington, Minn.

The growth of e-commerce contributed to an 8% increase in average daily FedEx Ground volume, but severe winter weather exacted a heavy toll on the company’s profitability.

New York -- The Deloitte Consumer Spending Index remained flat in February 2014, showing only a marginal change. The Index tracks consumer cash flow as an indicator of future consumer spending.

The Index, which comprises four components, tax burden, initial unemployment claims, real wages and real home prices, ticked down slightly to 3.9 from 4.0 last month. Highlights of the Index include:

Tax Burden: The tax rate stayed at 11.8%, consistent with recent months.

Dallas — SRS real Estate Partners has appointed Adam Baxter as first VP in the Birmingham office. He will focus on tenant and landlord representation in the Birmingham market.

GE has appointed Charles Nugent as VP, manufacturing, for GE Oil & Gas, reporting to Lorenzo Simonelli, SVP and CEO of GE Oil & Gas.

GE has 192 officers globally who lead large revenue-generating businesses or are in critical technology or functional roles, charged with helping to drive growth.

Nugent has been with the company for 30 years, holding a number of leadership roles in plant management and operations with GE Aviation. Most recently, he served as senior executive of product management at GE Aviation.

Hibbett Sports experienced a significant slowdown in January due to significant weather-related store closures and a less favorable sales impact this year from the college football championship game. However, sales trends improved in February as weather patterns normalized and the retailer rolled out its spring assortment. Net sales for the 13-week period ended Feb. 1 increased 0.2% to $217.8 million compared with $217.4 million for the 14-week period ended Feb. 2, 2013. Comparable store sales increased 1.7% on a comparable 13-week period.