McLean Hospital, the largest psychiatric affiliate of Harvard Medical School, announced today that it was launching an Institute of Coaching with a $2 million gift from the Harnisch Foundation.

Ruth Ann Harnisch, a philanthropist and certified professional coach, made the decision to fund the institute, which will focus on coaching-related research, practice and education, after listening to researchers’ stories at the first International Coaching Research Forum in 2008.

Of course, life coaching is somewhat different from football coaching, but perhaps the institute will still study whether you should go for it on fourth down with two yards to go on your own 28 yard line ahead by six points with Peyton Manning warming up on the sidelines and no timeouts left …

It’s enough to send a Patriots fan to McLean Hospital.

The Federal Reserve once again decided to keep a key interest rate at a record-low level to help fuel the economic recovery. Here is today’s statement from the Fed:

“Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in September suggests that economic activity has continued to pick up. Conditions in financial markets were roughly unchanged, on balance, over the intermeeting period. Activity in the housing sector has increased over recent months. Household spending appears to be expanding but remains constrained by ongoing job losses, sluggish income growth, lower housing wealth, and tight credit. Businesses are still cutting back on fixed investment and staffing, though at a slower pace; they continue to make progress in bringing inventory stocks into better alignment with sales.

“Although economic activity is likely to remain weak for a time, the Committee anticipates that policy actions to stabilize financial markets and institutions, fiscal and monetary stimulus, and market forces will support a strengthening of economic growth and a gradual return to higher levels of resource utilization in a context of price stability.

“With substantial resource slack likely to continue to dampen cost pressures and with longer-term inflation expectations stable, the Committee expects that inflation will remain subdued for some time.

“In these circumstances, the Federal Reserve will continue to employ a wide range of tools to promote economic recovery and to preserve price stability. The Committee will maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent and continues to anticipate that economic conditions, including low rates of resource utilization, subdued inflation trends, and stable inflation expectations, are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period.

“To provide support to mortgage lending and housing markets and to improve overall conditions in private credit markets, the Federal Reserve will purchase a total of $1.25 trillion of agency mortgage-backed securities and about $175 billion of agency debt. The amount of agency debt purchases, while somewhat less than the previously announced maximum of $200 billion, is consistent with the recent path of purchases and reflects the limited availability of agency debt. In order to promote a smooth transition in markets, the Committee will gradually slow the pace of its purchases of both agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities and anticipates that these transactions will be executed by the end of the first quarter of 2010.

“The Committee will continue to evaluate the timing and overall amounts of its purchases of securities in light of the evolving economic outlook and conditions in financial markets. The Federal Reserve is monitoring the size and composition of its balance sheet and will make adjustments to its credit and liquidity programs as warranted.

“Voting for the FOMC monetary policy action were: Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman; William C. Dudley, Vice Chairman; Elizabeth A. Duke; Charles L. Evans; Donald L. Kohn; Jeffrey M. Lacker; Dennis P. Lockhart; Daniel K. Tarullo; Kevin M. Warsh; and Janet L. Yellen.”

The Mass Technology Leadership Council Inc. is joining forces with the Massachusetts Network Communications Council Inc.

“We’re creating a single, go-to council for the technology industry,” says Steve O’Leary, chairman of MassTLC, in a statement released today.

The combo will serve some 500 member organizations, from technology companies to venture capital firms.

The new MassTLC’s first event after the merger will be Thursday’s 12th annual technology leadership awards banquet at the Boston Marriott Copley Place hotel. Among the honorees are BBN Technologies founder Leo Beranek and Avid Technologies founder Bill Warner.

Exact Sciences Corp.’s recent relocation from its longtime home in Marlboro to Madison, Wis., wasn’t a big shocker. In fact, it was a no-brainer.

After all, the little biotech got a $1 million loan from the state of Wisconsin and the firm’s new CEO had run a Madison company before it was acquired by the Bay State’s Hologic Inc., so the move would be a homecoming of sorts.

Now there’s more to the story: Exact Sciences CEO Kevin Conroy may run for governor of Wisconsin.

The company confirmed Conroy’s political ambitions in a regulatory filing today, saying the Democrat is “actively considering such a run. Mr. Conroy intends to remain as CEO unless or until he is elected and takes office.”

Two other high-profile Dems have already dropped out of the race, and Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat, said he wouldn’t seek a third term back in August. That was two months after he announced the big loan, relocation and job-growth plans for Exact Sciences.

The Wall Street Journal won’t have reporters on the beat in Boston anymore.

The business publication reported on its Web site today that it will close its Boston news operation, eliminating nine jobs. The employees can apply for other positions at the paper.

A memo from managing editor Robert Thomson noted that several Journal staffers in Boston were part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2007 for stories about the stock-option backdating scandal. Those investigative journalists will stay in Boston, Thomson said.

Chances are you didn’t get (or even want) a ticket to President Obama’s speech on clean energy tomorrow at MIT. Kresge Auditorium only seats 1,226 and tickets were by invitation only.

If you do want to tune in, the Cambridge school will offer a live webcast of the noon address via this site.

The Federal Reserve’s “Beige Book” report on regional economic conditions is out today, and the Boston area is looking a bit better to the central bankers.

Overall, the Fed expects a “slow recovery” next year with business activity still slow but showing signs of improvement.

Click here for the Fed’s report on its First District in Boston.

Tutor Perini Corp. has issued a press release that the construction giant will relocate its corporate headquarters from Framingham to Los Angeles.

It’s a big loss for the Bay State. But we already knew that.

The Herald reported way back in early July that Tutor Perini was shifting its operations West, where its CEO, Ronald Tutor, lives and following the merger of Perini Corp. and Tutor-Saliba Corp.

Company officials at the time dodged our questions about the relocation we’d heard about it, but Tutor Perini had a big celebration for it. L.A.’s mayor called the move “a great day for jobs in Los Angeles.”

So what kind of a day does that make it in Framingham?

Here’s an official White House photo of Suffolk University freshman Scott Paiva meeting President Obama today at the White House.

As the Herald reported earlier today, Paiva was among three winners of the 2009 National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge who got to meet the president in a private Oval Office ceremony.

Paiva, an 18-year-old New Bedford resident, placed third out of 28,000 entrants in the competition. Competitors come up with plans for new businesses, then “pitch” their ideas to a panel of real company executives.

Paiva proposed “Express Tax Service,” and H&R Block-style tax-preparation firm aimed at young people. The son of a tax preparer, Paiva has been certified to professionally prepare tax returns himself since age 17.

Harvard University’s “financial challenges” are explained in detail today in the school’s annual report.

The Ivy League school’s endowment lost 27 percent of its value during the fiscal year ended June 30, forcing Harvard to slash budgets, cut 275 jobs and slow its Allston expansion plans.

In the report, Harvard notes a few big financial hits, including deep losses in the “pooled cash” of its various schools and departments that was invested along with its endowment fund, and a $500 million payout to get out interest-rate swaps that had backfired.