More of America’s largest companies will shrink their staffs than will hire in the next six months, according to the latest survey of their CEOs.

Nineteen percent of the CEOs expect to expand their workforces, while 31 percent predict a decrease in the next six months, according to a quarterly survey from the Business Roundtable released Tuesday. That’s slightly better than the 13 percent who expected increased hiring three months earlier. At that time, 40 percent forecast cuts.

The CEOs also expect the overall U.S. economy to grow by 1.9 percent in 2010. That would mark a slowdown from the 2.8 percent pace in the third quarter of 2009. Last quarter’s growth followed a record four straight quarterly declines and was the strongest signal that a recovery from the recession had started.

The Business Roundtable survey results were released the same day Manpower Inc.’s quarterly employment outlook said U.S. employers are generally more optimistic about the first quarter of 2010 than the last quarter of 2009. Of the 28,000 employers surveyed nationally, 12 percent said they planned to hire and 2 percent said they plan to cut jobs.

LaGrange gives cash for economic group

The LaGrange County Economic Development Corp. will get $250,000 in local tax money to help entice business investment, officials said Tuesday.

The money for a special fund was approved by the LaGrange County commissioners and the County Council at a special joint meeting in late November. The money will come from county economic development income taxes.

The LaGrange County Investment Fund could be used to help offset the costs of site preparation, infrastructure improvements or other project costs to help improve the county’s marketability.

“It gives us one more tool to help proactively prepare LaGrange County for when the economy recovers,” Keith Gillenwater, executive director of the economic development corporation, said in a news release.

Parkview receives group’s ‘premier’ label

Parkview Hospital on Tuesday announced it has been named a Spirit of Women Premier Hospital as measured by the National Standards of Excellence in Women’s Health.

The standards were developed by the Spirit of Women Health Network in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health. They measure things including how the organization aligns women’s health services with community needs.

Parkview was evaluated over a six-month period, during which it met or exceeded at least 80 percent of the national standards, the hospital said in a news release. The hospital’s overall average score was 93 percent.

Kroger reports $875 million loss

The Kroger Co. is hurting from California’s ailing economy and the overall bite of a dollar-by-dollar battle under way nationwide for recession-pinched households’ grocery spending.

The nation’s largest grocery chain reported Tuesday an $875 million third-quarter loss, largely because of a $1.05 billion charge to write down the value of its Ralphs division in California, which it acquired a decade ago. Even without that, its profit fell more than 25 percent.

Kroger also cut its sales and profit forecasts for the full year.