PARSIPPANY, N.J.- Tax chain Jackson Hewitt Tax Service has begun the  roll-out of its electronic document signature and storage program, which will be available at some of its locations during the upcoming tax season. The program, utilizing technology from Integra Business Systems, also provides customers with access to tax returns through Web portal on the company's site.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The economy took a chunk out of Paychex’s operations for the first quarter ended August 31 as net income fell 17 percent on a 5-percent decline in revenue. However, the company saw signs business is improving as the recently ended period was the first in four sequential quarters in which there was not a decline in checks per clients. Executives were optimistic that the worst is over, given the combination of general economic and internal company indicators.

A study of 1,200 independent investment advisors surveyed by Charles Schwab has found a strong majority of those responding are optimistic about the prospects for improvement in the economy with 72 percent predicting the S&P 500 Index will continue to rise over the next six months and 79 percent approving of the leadership of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.  Most expect the housing market will improve, a significant turnaround from January, although they also believe job losses will continue.