Ernst out, Breeden in as Block boss

Mark Ernst resigned as chairman, president and CEO of tax giant H&R Block following quarterly losses tied to subprime mortgages. Richard Breeden, formerly a Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, was named interim chairman of the Kansas City, Mo.-based company. Mr. Breeden, now an activist investor and chairman of Breeden Capital Management LLC, joined H&R Block's board of directors earlier this year after he won a seat in a proxy fight. Alan Bennett, who retired this year as chief financial officer of Aetna Inc., a Hartford, Conn.-based health insurance company, was named interim chief executive. Mr. Bennett is not, however, in the running to become the permanent chief executive, the company said. The company is in the process of trying to salvage an agreement to sell its Option One Mortgage Corp. unit to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP, a New York-based private equity firm, for an estimated $1 billion. The deal stalled as losses from riskier home loans continued to mount. The company has posted $736.2 million in losses over the past five quarters.