Thomas F. Frist Jr., a board member, co-founder and brother of Senator Frist, had been a longtime investor in Bain Capital's buyout funds and contacted the firm to gauge its interest in acquiring HCA through a leveraged buyout and taking it private again, according to S.E.C. documents.
With the help of the WHO, the alliance will help companies design a "business plan" for health, identifying local public-sector partners and working out budgets and benchmarks for firms to gauge their performance.
He is the chief executive officer of Trucost, a consulting firm that helps gauge the full burden of greenhouse-gas emissions and advises clients on how to address them.
The public opinion poll, which was conducted on the union's behalf by Peter D. Hart Research Associates, a Washington firm, tried to gauge not only whether city residents would support a strike but also what they think of Mr. Bloomberg's handling of the contract talks and of his quest to win control of the schools.
Some officials here have been frustrated by what they see as the failure of some field offices to respond aggressively enough in chasing terrorism leads, and the information would give them a firmer means to gauge progress, the aide said.
And return on equity - a critical figure used to gauge a firm's profitability - dipped into the single digits for many firms, a far cry from the 20 percent and 30 percent figures common in the precrisis era.
In its continuing quest to improve its return on equity, a measure used to gauge a firm's efficiency in deploying its capital, Merrill repurchased 17.8 million shares during the quarter, completing the firm's $2 billion buyback plan.
How do you really gauge a firm's capacity, especially in services?
A manager can gauge the firm's output, but not the effort people put in, beyond crude gauges such as the time they spend on the job.
The figure represents a 23 percent increase in what banks hold in reserve and is likely to reduce the banks' return on equity, a critical figure used to gauge a firm's profitability, Fitch said.
