James Noyce, CEO of FBL Financial Group Inc. and a 1978 graduate of Drake University, will present the executive in residence lecture at Drake on Thursday. The lecture is free and open to the public, and will start at 7 p.m. in Sheslow Auditorium in Old Main, 2507 University Ave. The executive in residence series brings professionals to campus to share their career experiences with students and to deliver a public lecture.

Craig Dubow, the chief executive officer of Gannett Co. Inc., the parent company of The Des Moines Register, will take a voluntary 17 percent pay cut through next year, and senior executive salaries will be frozen. In a company memo to staff obtained by the Associated Press yesterday, Dubow acknowledged the “deep sacrifices” that all employees were making and announced that he would be reducing his annual pay by $200,000 beginning this month and continuing through 2009. According to proxy statements filed with federal regulators, he made $1.2 million in 2006 and 2007.

Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. announced today a third-quarter net loss of $8 million, or 2 cents a share, compared with year-ago profits of $1.9 billion, or $3.60 a share, Reuters reported. Included in the quarterly results was an increase in the company’s professional-liability reserves by $33 million, or 4 cents a share. According to Reuters’ estimates, when calculated on an adjusted basis, the company earned 21 cents per share, still missing the analysts’ forecast of 32 cents.

The President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy will host a “Literacy in the Heartland” forum on Nov. 11 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Hotel Fort Des Moines. The 16-member council was created in January by President George Bush to assist Americans in understanding and addressing financial matters. Local representatives and advocates include Shazia Manus, president and CEO of the Greater Iowa Credit Union, Cara Heiden, co-president of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, and Kevin Shields, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. community affairs specialist. The listening session will feature five-minute constituent testimonials followed by 15-minute discussions with advisory council members.

The Technology Association of Iowa will host its Women of Innovation awards banquet on Nov. 11 at the Des Moines Marriott Downtown from 5 until 8 p.m. The awards celebrate women leaders in science, technology and engineering, and the event will feature keynote speaker Susan Puglia, vice president of innovation and technology at IBM Corp.

General Growth Properties Inc., owner of Jordan Creek Town Center, announced today that it had a net loss in the third quarter of $15.4 million, or 6 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $9.4 million, or 4 cents per share, a year earlier, Bloomberg reported. Revenues fell 5.7 percent to $814.7 million, and funds from operations were 58 cents per share. General Growth also said that it has written down the value of a Massachusetts development and will not pay a third-quarter dividend after paying a dividend of 50 cents per share in the second quarter. The mall operator has lost more than 90 percent of its market value in the recent economic downturn as it works to refinance huge debt due this year. The company said it has funded $1.7 billion of new or replacement debt since June and has another $958 million of debt that will mature Dec. 1. Last month, the company replaced its CEO, fired its chief financial officer and scrapped future development plans.