Articles tagged with credit
Wed, May 16, 2012
RBC, Credit Suisse among bidders for BofA wealth units: sources
By Saeed Azhar and Denny Thomas
SINGAPORE/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Canada and Credit Suisse are among suitors who have put in ...
Tue, May 15, 2012
Credit Suisse slates more New York layoffs
(Reuters) - Credit Suisse Group
Tue, May 15, 2012
In Canada, phones poised to challenge credit cards
By Alastair Sharp
TORONTO (Reuters) - Thousands of Canadian retailers already have equipment in place to let customers pay for purchases with a swipe of ...
Tue, May 15, 2012
Report highlights impact of Earned Income Tax Credit changes on families
LANSING (WKZO) -- A report released this week by the Michigan League for Human Services highlights the impact of changes to the Earned Income Tax ...
Tue, May 15, 2012
Chesapeake hikes loan as credit rating fades
By Jennifer Ablan and Smita Madhur
(Reuters) - Chesapeake Energy Corp increased a planned loan even as its credit rating deteriorated on Tuesday, adding pressure ...
Sun, May 13, 2012
Slowing China data not worrying in a credit sense: Fitch
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - While financial markets may be worried about last week's data showing a broad slowing down of China's economy, the data ...
Sat, May 12, 2012
JPMorgan $2 billion loss hits shares, credit, image
NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co lost $15 billion in market value and a notch in its credit ratings on Friday while a chorus ...
Fri, May 11, 2012
Fitch cuts JPMorgan credit rating to A-plus
By Daniel Bases
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fitch Ratings cut JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s credit rating one notch to A-plus from AA-minus late on Friday, citing the bank's disclosure of a $2 billion trading loss, the result of a failed hedging strategy.
While the ratings agency sees the loss as manageable, the potential for reputational risk and risk governance issues that the episode raises make the firm "no longer consistent with an 'AA-' rating," Fitch said. JPMorgan's rating remains well within investment grade territory.
"Fitch views the size of loss as manageable. That said, the magnitude of the loss and ongoing nature of these positions implies a lack of liquidity. It also raises questions regarding JPM's risk appetite, risk management framework, practices and oversight; all key credit factors," Fitch said in a statement.
The downgrade also comes ...
Fri, May 11, 2012
Credit Suisse says Americas boss to step down
By Katharina Bart
ZURICH (Reuters) - Credit Suisse
Thu, May 10, 2012
JPMorgan $2 billion loss hits shares, credit, image
By David Henry and Douwe Miedema
NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co lost $15 billion in market value and a notch in its credit ratings on Friday while a chorus of regulators and politicians reacted to its surprise $2 billion trading loss by demanding stiffer oversight for the banking industry.
The loss by one of Wall Street's most respected banks embarrassed chief executive Jamie Dimon, a leader lauded for steering his bank through the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis without reporting a loss.
"We know we were sloppy. We know we were stupid. We know there was bad judgment," Dimon said in an interview with NBC television to be broadcast on "Meet the Press" on Sunday.
He said it wasn't clear whether the bank had broken any laws or violated any rules. "We've had audit, legal, risk, compliance, some of our best people looking at all of that."
The loss also invited regulatory scrutiny for a man who had all but led the charge to limit it, criticizing the so-called Volcker rule to ban proprietary trading by big banks.
The New York Times reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission has opened a preliminary investigation into JPMorgan's accounting practices and public disclosures about the trading loss.
On Friday, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro told reporters: "It's safe to say that all the regulators are focused on this."
The debacle sparked new fears about big banks and prompted Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher, who has called for the breakup of the top five U.S. banks, to say he is worried the biggest banks do not have adequate risk management.
The fallout extended across much of the banking sector, with shares of some of Wall Street's top names declining on Friday. Among others, Citigroup dropped 4.2 percent, Goldman Sachs fell 3.9 percent and Bank of America slipped 1.9 percent.
JPMorgan was far away the worst performer, however, falling 9.3 percent on a day when some 212 million of its shares traded, the most volume in its history.
Fitch Ratings cut JPMorgan's debt ratings a notch and put all of the ratings of the bank and its subsidiaries on negative ratings watch.
While Fitch saw the size of the loss as manageable, "the magnitude of the loss and ongoing nature of these positions implies a lack of liquidity," the ratings agency said.
"Fitch believes the potential reputational risk and risk governance issues raised at JPM are no longer consistent with an 'AA-' rating," it said.
Standard & Poor's put JPMorgan and its banking units on a negative outlook, but affirmed its current ratings.
In a conference call disclosing the problem on Thursday, Dimon said the $2 billion in losses could rise by a further $1 billion, and acknowledged they were linked to a London-based credit trader Bruno Iksil. Nicknamed the 'London Whale,' Iksil amassed an outsized position which hedge funds bet against.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, meanwhile, had been aware of JPMorgan's big trading loss and is currently monitoring the situation, according to a source close to the situation.
The Fed, which is JPMorgan's primary regulator, aims to ensure banks are sufficiently capitalized to withstand such trading mistakes, not to prevent them, the source said.
'STAKES ARE TOO HIGH'
The exact nature of the trading loss is still unclear, although sources said a host of asset managers, arbitrageurs and hedge funds were on the other side of the bet, viewing it as good value and a effective way to insure portions of their portfolio.
Blue Mountain, a hedge fund with offices in New York and London, was among those on the other side of JPMorgan's trade, according to two people familiar with the situation.
Dimon will undoubtedly be pressed by investors for more details about what exactly went wrong when he hosts the bank's annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday in Tampa, Florida.
A national union on Friday urged shareholders to approve a stockholder resolution calling for an independent board chairman at JPMorgan. Dimon currently holds the chairman and CEO titles.
"The stakes are too high to leave Jamie Dimon unsupervised," said Gerald McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, which sponsored the proposal. "Dimon denied that the ‘London Whale' was making risky bets, and now that this has turned out to be a fish story, shareholders need to step in."
Dimon had parlayed his bank's reputation as a white knight during the financial crisis into a position as the de facto representative fighting against excessive post-crisis regulation.
"What concerns me is risk management, size, scope," said Dallas Federal Reserve Bank's Fisher answer to a question about JPMorgan's trading loss. "At what point do you get to the point that you don't know what's going on underneath you? That's the point where you've got too big."
The trader at the center of the storm, Iksil, who graduated in engineering from the Ecole Centrale in Paris in 1991, was not available for comment. The Frenchman, and the Chief Investment Office (CIO) where he works, are known by rival credit traders for taking extremely large positions.
Friends, colleagues and fellow traders describe an unassuming man, a far cry from the brash image normally associated with traders staking huge bets in fast-moving financial markets, including derivatives.
"He's a really nice bloke. A quiet bloke. He's not an arrogant trader, he's quite the opposite. He's very charming," one former colleague at JPMorgan said of Iksil, whom he said was married with "a couple of kids".
JPMorgan characterized the costly trading strategy that led to the loss as a hedge, rather than as proprietary trade, or a bet with the bank's own money. But that line has been difficult for regulators and experts to define as they seek to craft the Volcker rule.
One friend and former JPMorgan colleague said Iksil and the team were not carrying out proprietary trading in disguise, and that the unit's activities were known at the highest levels of the bank.
"The CIO does not do prop trading, let's be clear on that ... It involves taking positions in the form of investments, trades, credit-default swaps, or other, with the aim of rebalancing the risks of JPMorgan's balance sheet.
"The information comes from the very top of the bank and I do not even think that the CIO team members at Bruno's level are given the full picture," the ex-colleague said.
Iksil was brought into the CIO unit to head its credit desk, an asset class it had not previously covered, a person who worked in the unit said. It built up large credit positions over several years through trades which were vetted by management and the losses now likely resulted from a combination of these trades going wrong, the person said.
The CIO desk had grown rapidly in the past five years and was given free range to trade in a whole range of financial products, the only exception being commodities, they added. The CIO is run by New York-based Ina Drew, who is Chief Investment Officer.
Credit market traders said other banks have comparable functions to JPMorgan's CIO. The French banks, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and UBS were all cited as examples of large treasury functions that hedge credit exposures in similar ways.
"The argument that financial institutions do not need the new rules to help them avoid the irresponsible actions that led to the crisis of 2008 is at least $2 billion harder to make today," U.S. Representative Barney Frank said in a statement.
The Democrat co-authored the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law designed to avoid a repeat of the recent credit crisis.
(Reporting by David Henry in NEW YORK, Rick Rothacker in CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, Dave Clarke in WASHINGTON, Svea Herbst-Bayliss in BOSTON and Vidya Ranganathan in SINGAPORE, Douwe Miedema, Sinead Cruise and Christopher Whittall in LONDON, Lionel Laurent in PARIS; Writing by Alexander Smith and Paul Thomasch; Editing by Alwyn Scott, Jon ...
Thu, May 10, 2012
Merkel resists calls to put growth before reforms
By Stephen Brown
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel rejected calls from her centre-left opponents in Germany and Europe for economic stimulus policies that rely ...
Wed, May 09, 2012
U.S. House votes to renew Ex-Im Bank, boost credit cap
By Doug Palmer
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to renew the U.S. Export-Import Bank's charter until September 2014 ...
Mon, May 07, 2012
Consumer credit jumps in March
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumer credit shot up during March at the fastest rate since late 2001 as credit-card use, and student and car loans ballooned ...
Thu, May 03, 2012
China willing to reform export credit system: U.S. official
BEIJING (Reuters) - China is willing to reform its export-credit financing, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday, a move that can help level ...
Tue, May 01, 2012
Gross warns of U.S. credit rating downgrade: CNBC
By Sam Forgione
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bill Gross, founder and co-chief investment officer of bond giant PIMCO, told CNBC on Tuesday that the U ...
Tue, May 01, 2012
PIMCO's Gross cautions against inflation and credit "ocean"
By Sam Forgione
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Central bank policies will induce growth in developed countries this year but will create inflationary risks down the ...
Sun, April 29, 2012
Jenna Fischer financed production debut with her own credit card
The Office star makes her debut as a producer on the upcoming romantic comedy, in which she appears alongside Topher Grace and Malin Akerman ...
Sat, April 28, 2012
Jenna Fischer financed production debut with her own credit card
The Office star makes her debut as a producer on the upcoming romantic comedy, in which she appears alongside Topher Grace and Malin Akerman ...
Fri, April 27, 2012
Jenna Fischer financed production debut with her own credit card
The Office star makes her debut as a producer on the upcoming romantic comedy, in which she appears alongside Topher Grace and Malin Akerman ...
Fri, April 27, 2012
Credit Suisse and Barclays investors revolt over pay
By Matt Scuffham and Katharina Bart
LONDON/ZURICH (Reuters) - More than a quarter of shareholders at Credit Suisse
Fri, April 27, 2012
Credit Suisse suffers pay revolt, Barclays seen next
By Matt Scuffham and Katharina Bart
LONDON/ZURICH (Reuters) - Almost a third of Credit Suisse
Fri, April 27, 2012
Credit Suisse CEO says handed data to U.S.
ZURICH (Reuters) - Credit Suisse
Fri, April 27, 2012
Spanish economy in "huge crisis" after credit downgrade
By Nigel Davies
MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's sickly economy faces a "crisis of huge proportions", a minister said on Friday, as unemployment hit its ...
Thu, April 26, 2012
Jenna Fischer financed production debut with her own credit card
The Office star makes her debut as a producer on the upcoming romantic comedy, in which she appears alongside Topher Grace and Malin Akerman ...
Wed, April 25, 2012
In Canada, phones poised to challenge credit cards
By Alastair Sharp
TORONTO (Reuters) - Thousands of Canadian retailers already have equipment in place to let customers pay for purchases with a swipe of ...
Wed, April 25, 2012
Cuts, bond trading keep Credit Suisse in profit
By Katharina Bart
ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss bank Credit Suisse eked out a small first-quarter profit, as cost cuts and a better-than-expected showing from its ...
Mon, April 23, 2012
Citi, Goldman, Credit Suisse prep joint Maiden Lane III bid
By Karen Brettell and Adam Tempkin
NEW YORK, April 23 (Reuters/IFR) - Citigroup, Goldman and Credit Suisse plan to make a combined bid to ...
Thu, April 19, 2012
Analysis: Gulf in China bond spreads shows foreigners' credit fears
By Gabriel Wildau and Lawrence White
SHANGHAI/HONG KONG (Reuters) - To foreign bondholders of Fosun International, concerns seem to be growing around the business ...
Thu, April 19, 2012
Bausch & Lomb launches $3.48 billion credit
By Smita Madhur and Caleb Frazier
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bausch and Lomb
Thu, April 19, 2012
Bank of America trading rebound aids recovery
By Rick Rothacker
(Reuters) - Bank of America Corp posted better-than-expected first-quarter earnings on Thursday in the latest sign that the No. 2 U.S ...
Sun, April 15, 2012
Credit Suisse could cut 5,000 jobs: paper
ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss bank Credit Suisse
Thu, April 12, 2012
Consumer agency suggests looser credit card rule
By Dave Clarke
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Public interest groups are chiding the new U.S. consumer watchdog for proposing to rollback part of a credit ...
Thu, April 12, 2012
Smartphone sales to touch 1 billion-unit mark in 2014: Credit Suisse
(Reuters) - Global smartphones annual sales will cross the billion-unit mark in 2014, helped by strong demand from China and the launch of cheaper low-end ...
Thu, March 29, 2012
U.S. court presses Dow Co in tax credit case
By Grant McCool
NEW YORK (Reuters) - An appeals court heard arguments from Union Carbide and the U.S. government on Thursday as the company ...
Tue, March 27, 2012
Analysis: Dow court case pushes limit of R&D tax credit
By Patrick Temple-West and Ernest Scheyder
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dow Chemical Co is challenging the U.S. Internal Revenue Service in a rare ...
Mon, March 26, 2012
Credit Suisse cuts Safeway on pension cost woes
(Reuters) - Credit Suisse downgraded Safeway Inc
The ...
Fri, March 23, 2012
Share issuance of volatility product to resume: Credit Suisse
(Reuters) - Credit Suisse said it will resume issuance of shares of a controversial leveraged exchange-traded product that roiled markets a month ago.
The announcement ...
Fri, March 23, 2012
Credit Suisse says cooperating with Libor probes
ZURICH (Reuters) - Credit Suisse
Wed, March 21, 2012
BofA sells more European credit cards to Apollo
By Greg Roumeliotis and Rick Rothacker
NEW YORK/CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) - Apollo Global Management LLC
Tue, March 13, 2012
Credit Suisse banker fined $327,900 over bond issue
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined Nicholas Kyprios, head of Credit Suisse's
Fri, March 09, 2012
ISDA declares Greek credit event, CDS payments triggered
By Daniel Bases
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Greece triggered the payment on default insurance contracts by using legislation that forces losses on all private creditors ...
Wed, March 07, 2012
Consumer credit rises more than expected in January
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumer credit expanded sharply in January in a generally positive sign for the economy as people borrowed money to buy cars and ...
Tue, March 06, 2012
Porsche employees charged with credit fraud
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German state prosecutors have charged three employees at Porsche with credit fraud, the latest fallout from a legal dispute alleging the sportscar ...
Mon, March 05, 2012
Credit Suisse to buy back $4.4 billion of securities
ZURICH (Reuters) - Credit Suisse
Fri, March 02, 2012
Credit Suisse to face National Century fraud case
By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) - A federal judge rejected Credit Suisse Group Inc's
Fri, March 02, 2012
Exclusive: Credit Suisse banker sought Romney donations
By Tom Bergin and Mark Hosenball
March 2, LONDON (Reuters) - A Credit Suisse executive set off an email chain seeking donations from subordinates for ...
Thu, March 01, 2012
LivingSocial to launch its first credit card
By Alistair Barr
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - LivingSocial, the second-largest daily deal company behind Groupon Inc
Thu, March 01, 2012
Exclusive: Facebook seeking bigger credit line
By Alistair Barr
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc plans to increase its $2.5 billion credit line to help cover a major tax hit ...
Mon, February 27, 2012
ECB wall of cash averts credit crunch
By Eva Kuehnen
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The euro zone avoided a credit crunch in January but banks showed scant sign of lending on the funds ...
Tue, February 21, 2012
Wall Street up on jobs data, brushes off Greek default
By Angela Moon
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks advanced on Friday as investors brushed off the technical default by Greece and focused instead on another ...
Sat, February 18, 2012
China to crank up credit as lending, economy slow
By Jason Subler and Kevin Yao
SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - China's central bank cut the amount of cash banks must hold in reserves on ...
Thu, February 16, 2012
CFPB targets debt collectors and credit bureaus
By Dave Clarke
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The new U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a proposal to regulate about 200 debt collectors and companies ...
Tue, February 14, 2012
U.S., China agree to negotiate export credit deal
By Doug Palmer
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and China agreed on Tuesday to open talks on setting guidelines for export-credit financing, an area ...
Mon, February 13, 2012
Obama seeks tax credit for NY's World Trade Center
By Joan Gralla
(Reuters) - Transportation upgrades for New York's World Trade Center rebuilding would get a $200 million tax credit under President Barack ...
Fri, February 10, 2012
Credit squeeze threat to shipping industry: survey
By Jonathan Saul
LONDON (Reuters) - Tighter bank financing is the big threat to shipping companies, and many are looking at alternative sources of funding ...
Thu, February 09, 2012
Investment bank slump tips C.Suisse to Q4 loss
By Katharina Bart
ZURICH (Reuters) - Credit Suisse
Mon, February 06, 2012
Russia, China lose credit in Arab world: League chief
By Paul Ingrassia and Edmund Blair
CAIRO (Reuters) - The Arab League chief said on Monday that Russia and China had lost diplomatic credit in ...
Mon, February 06, 2012
Citi gets approval to issue credit cards in China
By Kazunori Takada
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The China unit of Citigroup Inc
Sat, February 04, 2012
Hungary seeks 15-20 billion euro IMF/EU credit line: official
BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary is seeking an international credit line of 15 to 20 billion ($20 to $26.3 billion) euros, the secretary of state ...
Wed, February 01, 2012
Ex-Credit Suisse employee surrenders: FBI
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former Credit Suisse employee surrendered to the FBI on Wednesday on criminal charges, an FBI spokesman said, in a U ...
Tue, January 31, 2012
Analysis: Obstacles high for more mortgage prosecutions
By David Henry and Lauren Tara LaCapra
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Despite the determination of President Obama to take Wall Street to court for the ...
Mon, January 30, 2012
Most banks tightening credit to Europe, Fed says
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than two-thirds of banks in a Federal Reserve survey of senior loan officers said they had tightened credit to European financial ...
Thu, January 26, 2012
Obama pushes energy plan on campaign-style tour
By Caren Bohan
AURORA, Colorado (Reuters) - President Barack Obama pitched a plan on Thursday to boost U.S. use of natural gas and open ...
Tue, January 24, 2012
Credit Suisse's risky asset bonus plan gets encore
By Martin de Sa'Pinto
ZURICH (Reuters) - Credit Suisse
Fri, January 13, 2012
S&P to cut France, Austria credit rating by one notch each
LONDON (Reuters) - Standard & Poor's is set to downgrade the credit ratings of France and Austria by one notch each, the Financial Times reported ...
Mon, January 09, 2012
Consumer credit surges by most since 2001
By Jason Lange
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer credit surged 10 percent in November, its biggest jump in a decade in a positive signal ...
Sat, January 07, 2012
Israel vows to hit back after credit cards hacked
By Dan Williams
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel said on Saturday the online publication of thousands of its citizens' credit card details by a hacker who ...
Thu, January 05, 2012
Hacker mounts second attack on Israeli credit cards
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A Saudi-based computer hacker published details of thousands of active Israeli credit cards for the second time this week, the chief executive ...
Thu, January 05, 2012
Credit Suisse sees sluggish growth in 2012 handset sales
(Reuters) - Global mobile phone shipments is likely to grow at a much slower pace of 2 percent this year as customers hold back on ...
Tue, January 03, 2012
Hackers steal Israeli credit card numbers
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Computer hackers published details of thousands of active Israeli credit cards after breaking into Israeli websites, the chief executive of Israel's ...
Thu, December 29, 2011
Financial market credit tightened at year end: Fed
By Pedro Nicolaci da Costa
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Banks tightened the screws on lending to major financial market participants in recent months, the U.S ...
Fri, December 23, 2011
UK plans to ban "excessive" credit card surcharges
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said Friday it plans to ban companies from making their customers pay excessive credit and debit card surcharges when buying flights ...
Thu, December 22, 2011
Moody's cuts Slovenia's credit rating one notch to A1
(Reuters) - Moody's Investors Service on Thursday cut the sovereign foreign currency credit rating for Slovenia one notch to A1 from Aa3, citing increasing ...
Mon, December 19, 2011
Writers Guild restores credit to blacklisted writer
(Reuters) - Blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo, who penned the screenplay for the classic film "Roman Holiday," had his credit restored by a Hollywood writers group ...
Sun, December 18, 2011
Eurozone bank failures could cause U.S. credit squeeze: Kaufman
By Ellen Freilich
(Reuters) - Euro-zone bank failures could lead to a credit squeeze in the United States, hurting an already subpar U.S. economic ...
Thu, December 15, 2011
Credit Agricole quits commodity trade as crisis bites
By Sybille de La Hamaide and Christopher Johnson
(Reuters) - Credit Agricole
Wed, December 14, 2011
Credit Agricole to cut jobs as loss looms
By Lionel Laurent and Matthieu Protard
PARIS (Reuters) - Credit Agricole
Wed, December 14, 2011
No threat from package at Credit Suisse in New York
NEW YORK (Reuters) - There is no threat from a suspicious package that arrived on Wednesday in the mail at the Credit Suisse headquarters in ...
Wed, December 14, 2011
Credit Agricole to cut 2,350 jobs: union source
By Lionel Laurent and Matthieu Protard
PARIS (Reuters) - Credit Agricole
Tue, December 13, 2011
Fitch warns it may cut Detroit's credit ratings
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Fitch Ratings warned on Tuesday it may drop Detroit's credit ratings further into the junk territory as the state of Michigan ...
Tue, December 13, 2011
Credit Agricole to unveil job cuts: union
By Lionel Laurent and Matthieu Protard
PARIS (Reuters) - French bank Credit Agricole
Sun, December 11, 2011
Risk-shy banks may prompt credit pinch: EU watchdog
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Banking Authority (EBA) has warned lenders against being so risk-averse as to prompt a credit crunch.
It also said regulators ...
Thu, December 08, 2011
Insight: Credit noose tightens slowly in central Europe
By Marton Dunai
SZEKESFEHERVAR, Hungary (Reuters) - For Hungarian businessman Ervin Majdan, membership of the European Union used to be a one-way ticket to prosperity ...
Wed, December 07, 2011
S&P may downgrade EU, large euro-zone banks
By Walter Brandimarte
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Standard & Poor's warned on Wednesday that it could cut the credit ratings of the European Union and large euro-zone banks if a mass downgrade of euro-zone countries materializes.
S&P said on Monday it may downgrade nearly all 17 euro-zone countries if EU leaders fail to agree on a solution for the region's debt crisis during Friday's summit.
The potential downgrade of the European Union has no impact on the ratings of other EU countries that are not part of the euro zone, a spokesman for S&P said. However, the move would likely increase the EU's borrowing costs, making it more costly for it to fund financial aid programs for member states.
S&P placed the European Union's AAA credit rating on credit watch negative, noting that euro-zone members, or countries that are part of the region's monetary union, contributed about 62 percent of the EU's total budgeted revenues in 2011.
"Our review will focus on the financial ability of euro-zone member states to support the EU's debt service should the institution face a period of financial distress," S&P analysts Frank Gil and Moritz Kraemer said in a report.
If euro-zone countries are downgraded, the European Union could have its rating cut by one notch, they added.
The European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community borrow on capital markets under a joint program to issue up to 80 billion euros in medium-term notes in order to finance member states through various channels.
In another follow-up to its warning on Monday, S&P said some of the euro zone's largest banks, such as BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank, could have their ratings cut following a potential downgrade of euro zone countries.
S&P's downgrade warnings for key euro-zone countries has increased pressure on policymakers to find a solution to the debt crisis quickly.
The move drew strong criticism from euro zone governments, which accuse the agencies of unduly inserting themselves into the political process. But many market participants welcomed the move, saying that by signaling more clearly their possible actions, ratings agencies are reducing market uncertainty.
"(The agencies) became activist and they became proactive," said Enrique Alvarez, head of strategy at IDEAglobal in New York. "In past crises, I don't think that ratings agencies were willing to telegraph as much information as they are now to the markets.
"This is very favorable for market transparency and it's very favorable overall to investors because there will be no shock next week if European policymakers don't come up with something valuable this weekend," added Alvarez. (Additional reporting by Chris Reese; Editing by Dan Grebler)
Wed, December 07, 2011
White House seeks simpler credit card fees, terms
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Wednesday it wants to make it easier for credit card holders to understand the interest rates and ...
Wed, November 30, 2011
Consumer agency sees confusion on credit cards
By Dave Clarke
(Reuters) - In its first three months in operation, the U.S. consumer financial watchdog received more than 5,000 complaints from ...
Wed, November 30, 2011
BOJ's Nishimura warns of risk of broad credit crunch
By Rie Ishiguro
KYOTO, Japan (Reuters) - There is no quick fix to Europe's debt woes that threaten to escalate into a more widespread ...
Tue, November 29, 2011
TMX to buy Australian credit risk software company
(Reuters) - TMX Group, Canada's largest exchange operator, plans to buy Razor Risk Technologies, an Australian company that provides credit risk software to stock ...
Fri, November 25, 2011
U.S. credit raters set back on First Amendment: judge
By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) - A federal judge has said credit ratings are not always protected opinion under the First Amendment, a defeat for credit ...
Fri, November 18, 2011
New York waiters busted for stealing credit card numbers
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Seven waiters at New York's top steakhouses were busted for stealing the American Express card numbers of rich customers and ...
Fri, November 18, 2011
S&P to update bank credit ratings within 3 weeks
By David Henry
(Reuters) - Standard & Poor's plans to update its credit ratings for the world's 30 biggest banks within three weeks and may well mete out a few downgrades in the process, possibly surprising battered global bond markets.
Among the institutions that could be downgraded are Bank of America Corp
Spokesmen for the three banks declined to comment.
Some European banks could also be affected. On November 9, S&P downgraded its scores for the health of the banking industries in a number of countries, including Denmark, Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands.
The updates in ratings are part of a major overhaul of S&P's methods for scoring the creditworthiness of some 750 banking groups.
The agency, the subject of intense criticism because its positive ratings for mortgage-backed securities played a major role in inflating the U.S. housing bubble, has been working on the changes for more than a year.
The updates are part of a broad push by S&P to improve its products and repair its reputation as its parent, McGraw-Hill Cos Inc
S&P has taken pains to prepare the markets for the changes, but when it actually releases results for individual banks some downgrades could surprise, analysts say.
"One reason there could be surprises is that the new ratings method is very complex and it has been very difficult to simulate results," said Beate Muenstermann, a London-based research analyst for the money management arm of JPMorgan Chase & Co.
One area for potential surprise lies in differences between actions the agency may take on bank holding companies compared with grades for their operating units. Another is variations between long-term and short-term ratings.
S&P posted an advance notice of the coming changes in March 2010 and in January 2011 outlined its initial plans and requested comments.
Earlier this month the agency published its final criteria and said it expects 60 percent of all bank ratings to stay as they are, while 20 percent will go up one notch, 15 percent will fall by one notch and less than 5 percent will drop by two or more notches. One notch is one-third of a letter grade -- for example, the difference between a rating of "A" and a rating of "A-minus."
S&P has not said what proportion of downgrades it expects among only the biggest banks. It has said to expect regional differences in the results for all banks. Western Europe fared worse than Latin America and Asia in the November 9 changes in scores for banking industries by country.
S&P estimated in January that there would be more downgrades, but the agency lowered some ratings while the plan was being completed and also eased some of the criteria.
The agency plans to first announce its results for the 30 biggest banks, possibly as early as late this month, and then begin quickly rolling out its ratings for smaller banks.
The agency has been discussing the often-arcane mechanics of the new methodology with banks and institutional investors and has posted explanations and tutorials on public pages of its website: http://www.standardandpoors.com/MicrositeHome/en/us/Microsites?mid=1245321770467#
"S&P has been extremely good at guiding the market through this change in the methodology," said Muenstermann.
How the changes are perceived by regulators could prove to more important to S&P than to the markets. Bond fund managers say the market has probably already priced in the information underlying S&P's research and judgments.
"The rating agencies tend to be laggards compared with prices," said Ryan Brist, a portfolio manager at Western Asset Management.
S&P's changes may even foretell a coming upturn for banks, he said. "Historically, ratings agencies tend to change their methodologies after large downward price movements in the market."
John Croft, a portfolio manager and director of investment grade research at Eaton Vance, said, "They seem to be fiddling around with their methodologies more than opining about the underlying credit strength of issuers."
Still, Croft gives the agency credit for trying to do better than in the past. Past ratings proved too high on such financial companies as Lehman Brothers, ABN AMRO and Wachovia, which either failed outright or were forced into mergers with stronger rivals.
"They are trying to rectify some of the problems that they have had in the past and to the extent that they do that, it is good," said Croft.
S&P expects to be able to use the system to more quickly change its ratings, such as when it sees new threats to bank funding or changes in how much government bailout support creditors can expect, said Jayan Dhru, a managing director at S&P, on Friday.
Dhru said S&P's ratings will also make better comparisons of banks around the world by applying consistent measurements of bank capital, something that is weak in the ratios banks report under international Basel standards designed by regulators. The Basel rules allow individual countries latitude in how their banks count capital.
The agency's performance is under scrutiny from regulators, who are designing ways to reduce the power and profits from the ratings business now enjoyed by S&P and its main competitor, Moody's Corp
S&P made matters worse last week when its computer systems accidentally sent a note to some customers suggesting that the credit rating of the Republic of France had been downgraded in the midst of the European debt crisis.
S&P said later the error stemmed from a computer programing step it had taken last December with the banking industry country scores used in the first step of its new ratings method.
(Reporting by David Henry in New York; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
Fri, November 18, 2011
S&P to update bank credit ratings within 3 weeks
By David Henry
(Reuters) - Standard & Poor's plans to update its credit ratings for the world's 30 biggest banks within three weeks and may well mete out a few downgrades in the process, possibly surprising battered global bond markets.
Among the institutions that could be downgraded are Bank of America Corp
Spokesmen for the three banks declined to comment.
Some European banks could also be affected. On November 9, S&P downgraded its scores for the health of the banking industries in a number of countries, including Denmark, Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands.
The updates in ratings are part of a major overhaul of S&P's methods for scoring the creditworthiness of some 750 banking groups.
The agency, the subject of intense criticism because its positive ratings for mortgage-backed securities played a major role in inflating the housing bubble, has been working on the changes for more than a year.
The updates are part of a broad push by S&P to improve its products and repair its reputation as its parent, McGraw-Hill Cos Inc
S&P has taken pains to prepare the markets for the changes, but when it actually releases results for individual banks some downgrades could surprise, analysts say.
"One reason there could be surprises is that the new ratings method is very complex and it has been very difficult to simulate results," said Beate Muenstermann, a London-based research analyst for the money management arm of JPMorgan Chase & Co.
One area for potential surprise lies in differences between actions the agency may take on bank holding companies compared with grades for their operating units. Another is variations between long-term and short-term ratings.
S&P posted an advance notice of the coming changes in March 2010 and in January 2011 outlined its initial plans and requested comments.
Earlier this month the agency published its final criteria and said it expects 60 percent of all bank ratings to stay as they are, while 20 percent will go up one notch, 15 percent will fall by one notch and less than 5 percent will drop by two or more notches. One notch is one-third of a letter grade -- for example, the difference between a rating of "A" and a rating of "A-minus."
S&P has not said what proportion of downgrades it expects among only the biggest banks. It has said to expect regional differences in the results for all banks. Western Europe fared worse than Latin America and Asia in the November 9 changes in scores for banking industries by country.
S&P estimated in January that there would be more downgrades, but the agency lowered some ratings while the plan was being completed and also eased some of the criteria.
The agency plans to first announce its results for the 30 biggest banks, possibly as early as late this month, and then begin quickly rolling out its ratings for smaller banks.
The agency has been discussing the often-arcane mechanics of the new methodology with banks and institutional investors and has posted explanations and tutorials on public pages of its website: mid=1245321770467#> "S&P has been extremely good at guiding the market through this change in the methodology," said Muenstermann. How the changes are perceived by regulators could prove to more important to S&P than to the markets. Bond fund managers say the market has probably already priced in the information underlying S&P's research and judgments. "The rating agencies tend to be laggards compared with prices," said Ryan Brist, a portfolio manager at Western Asset Management. S&Ps changes may even foretell a coming upturn for banks, he said. "Historically, ratings agencies tend to change their methodologies after large downward price movements in the market." John Croft, a portfolio manager and director of investment grade research at Eaton Vance, said, "They seem to be fiddling around with their methodologies more than opining about the underlying credit strength of issuers." Still, Croft gives the agency credit for trying to do better than in the past. Past ratings proved too high on such financial companies as Lehman Brothers, ABN AMRO and Wachovia, which either failed outright or were forced into mergers with stronger rivals. "They are trying to rectify some of the problems that they have had in the past and to the extent that they do that, it is good," said Croft. The agency's performance is under scrutiny from regulators, who are designing ways to reduce the power and profits from the ratings business now enjoyed by S&P and its main competitor, Moody's Corp S&P made matters worse last week when its computer systems accidentally sent a note to some customers suggesting that the credit rating of the Republic of France had been downgraded in the midst of the European debt crisis. S&P said later the error stemmed from a computer programing step it had taken last December with the banking industry country scores used in the first step of its new ratings method. (Reporting by David Henry in New York; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
Fri, October 07, 2011
Moody's warns Belgium it risks credit rating cut
By Daniel Bases and Philip Blenkinsop
NEW YORK/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Moody's warned Belgium on Friday its credit rating could fall due to the ...
Fri, October 07, 2011
Consumer credit falls $9.5 billion in August
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer credit posted its largest decline in more than a year in August, according to a Federal Reserve report on ...
Fri, October 07, 2011
Moody's cuts credit ratings on UK banks RBS and Lloyds
By Sudip Kar-Gupta
LONDON (Reuters) - Credit rating agency Moody's downgraded Britain's part-nationalized banks Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland on Friday, although ...
Wed, October 05, 2011
Moody's may upgrade Ford Motor's credit rating
DETROIT (Reuters) - Ratings agency Moody's Investors Service may raise Ford Motor Co's
Tue, October 04, 2011
Moody's slashes Italy credit rating
By Catherine Hornby and Daniel Bases
NEW YORK/ROME (Reuters) - Moody's lowered its rating on Italy's bonds by three notches on Tuesday ...
Tue, October 04, 2011
UBS third-quarter credit gains to cancel out trading loss
By Caroline Copley
ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss bank UBS AG
Thu, September 29, 2011
SEC finds failures at credit raters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Securities and Exchange Commission staff found "apparent failures" at each of the 10 credit rating agencies they examined, including Standard & Poor's, Moody's, and Fitch, the agency said on Friday in its first annual report on credit raters.
The SEC sent letters outlining the staff's concerns to each of the ratings firms and demanded a remediation plan with 30 days, an agency official said in a conference call with reporters.
The SEC staff said concerns include failures to follow ratings methodologies, failures in making timely and accurate disclosures and failures to manage conflicts of interest.
The SEC's report was required by last year's Dodd-Frank financial oversight law.
The staff report did not single out by name any credit-rating agency for questionable actions, but it did describe specific problems it found.
Two of the three largest firms, for example, did not have specific policies in place to manage conflicts of interest when rating an offering from an issuer who is also a large shareholder of the firm.
The industry is dominated by Moody's Corp, McGraw-Hill Cos Inc's Standard & Poor's and Fimalac SA's Fitch Ratings.
One of the large firms, the report said, did not have effective procedures in place to prevent leaks of ratings before they are published, the report said.
One of the three firms also failed to follow its methodology in rating certain asset-backed securities, was slow to discover, disclose and fix the errors, and may have let business interests influence its mistakes, the report said.
The report said the SEC has not determined that any of the findings constituted a "material regulatory deficiency" but said it might do so in the future.
"We expect the credit rating agencies to address the concerns we have raised in a timely and effective way, and we will be monitoring their progress as part of our ongoing annual examinations," said Norm Champ, deputy director of the SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations.
Congress first empowered the SEC to closely regulate ratings firms in 2006, and the Dodd-Frank law gave the agency even greater powers over the industry.
Credit raters have been widely criticized for fueling the financial crisis by giving top ratings to subprime mortgage securities that collapsed in value as the housing market cooled.
On Monday, McGraw-Hill disclosed that the SEC might charge its S&P unit with breaking securities laws over ratings it gave a package of securitized mortgages in 2007.
SEC Enforcement Director Robert Khuzami told Reuters this week that the agency faces hurdles proving wrongdoing at credit-rating agencies, pointing to the complexity of the cases and the industry's strong legal defenses. But he added that it would not stop the agency from probing possible misconduct.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa, Aruna Viswanatha, Karey Wutkowski; Editing by ...
Thu, September 29, 2011
S&P raises GM credit rating by two notches
(Reuters) - Ratings agency Standard & Poor's raised its corporate credit rating on General Motors Co
The ratings service revised up its credit rating on GM to BB+ from BB- and also raised its rating outlook to stable from positive.
The upgrade comes a day after the United Auto Workers union ratified a new four-year labor contract with GM, the first such deal for the top U.S. automaker since its 2009 bankruptcy.
"GM has a two-year track record of profits and cash flow generation in its global automotive operations, supported by strong performance in North America," Standard & Poor's said in a statement released on Thursday.
(Reporting by Soyoung Kim in Detroit; Editing by Derek Caney)
Sun, September 25, 2011
Maritime firms to struggle with credit squeeze
By Randy Fabi and Harry Suhartono
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - With fears of a recession rising, the maritime industry will find it increasingly difficult to obtain ...
Fri, September 23, 2011
Credit reporting firm TransUnion for sale: sources
By Paritosh Bansal
(Reuters) - TransUnion's owners are pursuing a possible sale that could fetch roughly $2 billion for the credit information firm, sources ...
Mon, September 19, 2011
S&P cuts Italy credit rating
(Reuters) - Ratings agency Standard & Poor's cut Italy's sovereign credit rating by one notch, saying the country's economic growth prospects were getting ...
Mon, September 19, 2011
Warnings mount on euro crisis, credit crunch
By Sakari Suoninen and David Ljunggren
FRANKFURT/OTTAWA (Reuters) - The euro currency project is in danger due to member states' runaway spending and the ...
Mon, September 19, 2011
New Jersey is Awarding 'Jersey Shore' a $420,000 Tax Credit
So, here's the kind of news that you happen upon and think, ""Oh, I didn't realize I was reading The Onion."" And ...
Mon, September 19, 2011
Credit Suisse to pay $206 million to settle German tax
By Martin de Sa'Pinto
ZURICH (Reuters) - Credit Suisse
Sun, September 18, 2011
New Jersey is Awarding 'Jersey Shore' a $420,000 Tax Credit
So, here's the kind of news that you happen upon and think, ""Oh, I didn't realize I was reading The Onion."" And ...
Sat, September 17, 2011
New Jersey is Awarding 'Jersey Shore' a $420,000 Tax Credit
So, here's the kind of news that you happen upon and think, ""Oh, I didn't realize I was reading The Onion."" And ...
Thu, September 15, 2011
Commonwealth Bank nabs top Credit Suisse banker
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA)
Wed, September 14, 2011
Exclusive: EU officials sound alarm on credit crunch
By John O'Donnell
WROCLAW, Poland (Reuters) - The EU's top finance officials are urging ministers to reinforce banks' capital while warning that a ...
Mon, September 12, 2011
EU officials seek to dispel fears of credit crunch
By Eva Kuehnen and Leigh Thomas
WROCLAW, Poland (Reuters) - EU officials sought to dispel fears about a bank lending freeze on Saturday, despite a ...
Sat, September 10, 2011
French banks braced for credit-rating downgrade: sources
By Lionel Laurent
PARIS (Reuters) - France's top banks are bracing themselves for a likely credit rating downgrade from Moody's, sources close to ...
Fri, September 09, 2011
Credit Suisse hires Greenhill insurance banker: memo
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Credit Suisse
Matsuzaka started his banking career at Credit Suisse, according to the memo, and left the bank in 2003.
He follows former Greenhill colleague Alejandro Przygoda, who left the boutique financial advisory firm to co-head Credit Suisse's global financial institutions group earlier this summer.
Matsuzaka will be based in New York and will report to the co-heads of the Americas financial institutions group, Neil Carragher and Steven Pierson.
(Reporting by Michael Erman; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)
Tue, August 30, 2011
Humble Sayles removes his credit from films
The Eight Men Out writer/director admits he is often called on as a ""screenwriter for hire"" - and his resume should be swelled by ...
Mon, August 29, 2011
Humble Sayles removes his credit from films
The Eight Men Out writer/director admits he is often called on as a ""screenwriter for hire"" - and his resume should be swelled by ...
Sun, August 28, 2011
Humble Sayles removes his credit from films
The Eight Men Out writer/director admits he is often called on as a ""screenwriter for hire"" - and his resume should be swelled by ...
Sat, August 27, 2011
Humble Sayles removes his credit from films
The Eight Men Out writer/director admits he is often called on as a ""screenwriter for hire"" - and his resume should be swelled by ...
Tue, August 23, 2011
Exclusive: Privacy lawsuit targets comScore
By Dan Levine and Jim Finkle
SAN FRANCISCO/BOSTON (Reuters) - Online data tracking service comScore Inc siphons confidential information including passwords, credit card numbers ...
Sun, August 21, 2011
Hope for euro deal, China growth spur stocks
By Jeremy Gaunt, European Investment Correspondent
LONDON (Reuters) - World stocks put in solid gains on Monday as investors bet on a positive outcome to ...
Fri, August 19, 2011
UBS, Credit Suisse did not use Fed swap facility
By Oliver Hirt and Martin de Sa'Pinto
ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland's two biggest banks UBS
Mon, August 15, 2011
BofA to exit Canada, Europe credit card business
By Joe Rauch and Cameron French
CHARLOTTE, N.C./TORONTO (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp
Mon, August 15, 2011
Bank funding stress threatens Europe credit crunch
LONDON (Reuters) - The risk of a credit crunch in southern Europe is rising as banks face stress in their medium- to long-term funding, forcing ...
Fri, August 12, 2011
Credit taps run dry for European lenders
By Gareth Gore
LONDON, Aug 12 (IFR) - Options are rapidly running out for Europe's ailing mid-tier banks as nervous creditors pull the plug ...
Thu, August 11, 2011
Zynga revises accounting practices; has credit line
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Zynga Inc, developer of popular Facebook games such as Farmville, said it is changing how it measures the average playing time ...
Thu, August 11, 2011
Spain stock market regulator bans short selling
MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's stock market regulator, the CNMV, said on Thursday it banned short selling on financial stocks for 15 days from August ...
Thu, August 11, 2011
Europe short-selling ban reveals divisions
By James Regan and Ian Simpson
PARIS/MILAN (Reuters) - A piecemeal ban on short-selling of financial stocks in Europe sparked a rush of alternative ...
Thu, August 11, 2011
Banks in Asia review credit to French lenders
By Rachel Armstrong and Saeed Azhar
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - One bank in Asia has cut credit lines to major French lenders while five other banks ...
Wed, August 10, 2011
Analysis: Is China left holding the credit baby?
By Mike Dolan
LONDON (Reuters) - August's dramatic financial shock, which is now both feeding off and risks fueling another economic downturn, may well ...
Mon, August 08, 2011
S&P cuts ratings tied to U.S. sovereign credit
By Joan Gralla
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Credit ratings on some of the main arteries of the U.S. financial system -- from clearing houses to ...
Fri, August 05, 2011
Standard & Poor's Downgrades U.S. Credit Rating
NEW YORK (REUTERS) -- S&P cut the long-term U.S. credit rating by one notch to AA-plus on concerns about the government's budget ...
Thu, August 04, 2011
Global stocks slide, gold hits new high
By Anirban Nag
LONDON (Reuters) - Global stocks ceded more ground on Friday, hurt by mounting concerns the U.S. economy is heading into another ...
Wed, August 03, 2011
Asian credit seen sound, despite U.S. and Europe woes: S&P
By Kevin Lim and Saeed Azhar
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The credit ratings of most Asian nations remain sound despite the debt problems in Europe and ...
Mon, August 01, 2011
Wall Street closes worst week since '08 with wild day
By Angela Moon
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks closed out their worst week in more than two years on Friday in a volatile session that ...
Thu, July 28, 2011
Credit Suisse cuts 2,000 jobs as poor trading hurts results
By Emma Thomasson
ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss bank Credit Suisse
Wed, July 27, 2011
S&P cuts Greece rating to CC, outlook negative
NEW YORK/ATHENS (Reuters) - Standard & Poor's on Wednesday cut Greece's sovereign credit rating further into junk territory, lowering it to CC from CCC, saying the European Union's proposed debt restructuring would put the country into "selective default."
S&P is the last of the three major rating agencies to warn of a default after euro zone leaders and banks agreed last week that the private sector would shoulder part of the burden of the rescue package that offers Greece more cash and easier loan terms to keep it afloat.
S&P said in a statement that the outlook on its rating is negative.
Euro zone leaders agreed on a second, 109 billion euro ($158 billion) package for debt-stricken Greece last Thursday.
Under the proposed restructuring, which would also require a contribution by private sector bondholders estimated to total as much as 50 billion euros by mid-2014, banks and insurers would voluntarily swap their Greek bonds for longer maturities at lower rates.
S&P said it sees the restructuring as a "distressed exchange."
"In our opinion, the terms of both the exchange and rollover options appear unfavorable to investors," S&P said, adding: "Under our criteria, we characterize a distressed borrower as one that would -- in the absence of debt relief -- fail to pay its debt on time and in full."
S&P said the purchase of Greek sovereign bonds in the secondary market would not be viewed as a selective default because the transactions would be entered into voluntarily.
However, it added: "In our opinion, the likelihood of a future default on the new securities is likely to remain high."
"We anticipate that we would assign a low-speculative-grade rating to Greece, given our view that Greece will likely continue to be burdened by high debt to GDP (gross domestic product) of just under 130 percent of GDP at end-2011 and uncertain growth prospects even after the debt restructuring is concluded."
Moody's on Monday cut Greece's credit rating by three notches to Ca, just one notch above default, to reflect the expected loss implied by the proposed debt exchange.
Fitch currently rates Greece CCC, broadly in line with Moody's, and it has said that Greece will likely be in temporary default as a result of the bond swap.
Standard and Poor's said on Wednesday that it was likely to assign a higher rating once the bond exchange is completed.
"On conclusion of the exchange and/or bond buybacks, we would likely raise the sovereign credit rating on Greece to a level commensurate with our forward-looking opinion on the likelihood of future defaults given Greece's adjusted debt profile," it said.
(Reporting by Daniel Bases and Caryn Trokie in New York and Renee Maltezou in Athens; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Tue, July 26, 2011
Credit rating execs to face congressional heat
By Karey Wutkowski
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Executives from U.S. credit rating agencies are expected to face sharp congressional scrutiny on Wednesday for their companies ...
Tue, July 26, 2011
Credit Suisse may cut up to 2,000 jobs: report
ZURICH (Reuters) - Credit Suisse will likely announce cost savings measures including a cut of 1,500-2,000 jobs, a Swiss paper reported on Tuesday ...
Mon, July 25, 2011
Agencies look for credit rating alternatives
By Dave Clarke
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Banking regulators expect to release proposals for replacing the work of credit rating agencies in their regulations later this ...
Sun, July 24, 2011
Credit Suisse unlikely to get help over U.S. tax probe
ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland's parliament would not vote for a second tax treaty to help settle U.S. charges that Credit Suisse bankers helped ...
Fri, July 22, 2011
U.S. indicts three Credit Suisse bankers
By Lynnley Browning
FAIRFIELD, Connecticut (Reuters) - U.S. authorities indicted three Credit Suisse AG private bankers, one a senior executive, on Thursday, toughening their ...
Fri, July 15, 2011
U.S. weighs Credit Suisse tax evasion charges-sources
By Lynnley Browning, Katie Reid and Chris Vellacott
FAIRFIELD, Conn./ZURICH/LONDON (Reuters) - Authorities are considering indicting Swiss bank Credit Suisse
Wed, July 13, 2011
Citigroup may keep store credit card unit: report
LONDON (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc
Thu, July 07, 2011
California credit outlook revised to stable by S&P
By Edith Honan
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Standard & Poor's revised California's credit outlook to stable on Thursday, one of the first significant pieces of good news for U.S. state and local governments as they work their way out of the Great Recession.
The outlook on the state's $89 billion of outstanding debt was revised to stable from negative on what S&P said was the better balance between money coming in and cash spent on state operations.
S&P's action comes on the heels of a $129.5 billion budget deal for fiscal 2012 that closed a gap projected to stretch to $26.6 billion through the end of the next fiscal year.
"We really did our analysis with the fact that they built in these triggers for cuts if the revenues don't materialize," S&P credit analyst Gabriel Petek said in an interview.
"There is a possibility down the road for a higher rating," Petek said. "I think that it would be somewhat contingent on the state following through, if the revenues don't materialize, and successfully implementing the cuts that they have included in this budget."
While last month's budget agreement gave California Governor Jerry Brown breathing room, he flagged the possibility of a 2012 initiative to extend tax increases for years to tackle the state government's "wall of debt."
S&P's change covered the "two-year outlook horizon," pointing to the potential for political battles down the road.
"The two years are not the same as forever or five years, and that's something Brown is going to have to explain to people," said Steve Levy, director of the Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy.
"OUT OF THE WOODSHED"
State governments suffered terribly in the financial crisis as tax revenues crashed and unemployment soared. That caused havoc throughout the $2.9 trillion municipal bond market where investors dumped their holdings on growing fears about the stability of municipal finances.
"It's nice to be out of the woodshed," said Tom Dresslar, a spokesman for California Treasurer Bill Lockyer. "They made it clear there are some uncertainties lingering and we've got more work to do. The fact that they raised the possibility of an upgrade in the wake of this budget is good news."
Josh Gonze, a portfolio manager with Thornburg Investment Management in Santa Fe, New Mexico, said S&P's action could be important "in the popular perception of the man on the street."
The cost of insuring California's debt with credit default swaps fell 11 basis points from Wednesday's levels, dropping to 164 basis points, or $164,000 per year for five years to insure $10 million in debt, according to data provider Markit.
"The fact it's rallying this strongly could be a sign of a significant shift in sentiment here in the near term," said Otis Casey, director of credit research at Markit in New York.
Other municipals also rallied on Thursday. Illinois's debt protection costs fell 15 basis points to 197 basis points. The benchmark muni CDS index fell 7 basis points to 128.5 basis points, Markit data showed.
In January 2010, S&P downgraded California's credit rating from A to A-minus, and assigned a negative outlook. The agency linked the move to the possibility of a recurring cash deficiency.
S&P said on Thursday the budget improved the state's fiscal structure and would likely reduce risks to its liquidity. But S&P's Petek said it still had to make progress in addressing a $35 billion backlog of obligations built up over a decade.
"That represents a drain on future state resources that will continue to hamper the credit going forward," he said.
As for the wider U.S. economy, Petek still saw considerable fiscal stress, but he said states, including California, have improved the fiscal picture by making tough budget choices.
"It really comes back to the management of these states when it comes to how the credit quality will perform through this period, which continues to be choppy at best," he said.
State governments rely on income and sales tax collections for revenue and, as a consequence, their "fiscal condition is going to more closely reflect what's going on in the economy in real time," Petek said. Local governments, by contrast, are powered by property taxes -- a lagging fiscal indicator.
(Additional reporting by Lisa Lambert in Washington, Karen Brettell, Joan Gralla in New York, and Braden Reddall in San Francisco; editing by Andrew Hay, Gary Crosse))
Thu, July 07, 2011
Senate deal would axe $6 billion ethanol tax credit
By Timothy Gardner
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three senators reached a deal on Thursday to repeal the $6 billion per year ethanol tax credit by the ...
Thu, July 07, 2011
Deal to end 45-cent ethanol credit seen this week
By Timothy Gardner
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three U.S. senators working on a framework to replace the $6 billion a year ethanol tax credit with ...
Tue, June 14, 2011
Snyder Goes to New York City to Try and Boost Michigan's Credit Rating
NEW YORK, NY (Metro Source) - Governor Rick Snyder visited New York City yesterday in the hopes of raising Michigan's credit rating. Mr. Snyder ...
Mon, June 13, 2011
Snyder Hopes to Boost Michigan Credit Rating
LANSING (WKZO) -- Governor Rick Snyder is visiting New York City in the hopes of raising Michigan's credit rating. Snyder, along with Treasurer Andy ...
Thu, June 09, 2011
Malcolm X's daughter admits credit card fraud
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The youngest daughter of black civil rights leader Malcolm X admitted on Thursday to stealing the identity of a longtime family ...
Thu, June 09, 2011
France could back Greek rollover if no credit event
By Daniel Flynn
PARIS (Reuters) - France could back a private sector rollover of Greek debt as part of a new EU-IMF bailout if a ...
Fri, June 03, 2011
Credit Suisse can't dodge auction-rate payout: court
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Credit Suisse must pay hundreds of millions of dollars to a semiconductor manufacturer over failed auction-rate securities, though a U.S ...
Thu, June 02, 2011
MBIA fraud claim against Credit Suisse dismissed
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A New York judge dismissed part of a lawsuit brought by bond insurer MBIA
Mon, May 23, 2011
April business borrowing, credit quality improve
By Lynn Adler
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A key measure of U.S. business activity rose in April and credit quality improved as the economy ...
Sat, May 21, 2011
S&P cuts credit outlook for Italy to negative
By Silvia Aloisi
ROME (Reuters) - Standard & Poor's cut its rating outlook for Italy to negative from stable, citing weak growth prospects and increased ...
Wed, May 18, 2011
SEC to propose new regulations for credit-raters
By Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Credit-rating agencies will have to disclose more details about their ratings process and better manage conflicts of interest ...
Wed, May 18, 2011
Target beats estimates on credit cards
By Jessica Wohl
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Target Corp <TGT.N> posted a bigger-than-expected rise in quarterly profit on Wednesday, as soaring profitability in its credit ...
Sun, May 15, 2011
Lawmakers Introduce Movie Tax Credit Bill
(Lansing, MI) -- Two Detroit-area state lawmakers have introduced a bill to preserve tax credits for movie making in Michigan. Senators Mike Kowall of White ...
Wed, May 11, 2011
Earned Income Tax Credit May Have New Life
LANSING (WKZO) -- Governor Rick Snyder may give new life to the Earned Income Tax Credit as the republican leadership struggles to find enough votes ...
Tue, May 10, 2011
State Senate Backs Scaled Down Earned Income Tax Credit
(Lansing, MI) -- One of the casualties of Governor Rick Snyder's tax plans may get new life. The state Earned Income Tax Credit for ...
Thu, May 05, 2011
Credit Suisse subpoenaed by SEC: court document
By Tom Hals
WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) - Credit Suisse was subpoenaed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this week for documents related to ...
Mon, May 02, 2011
Credit card executives see sunny days ahead
By Maria Aspan
MIAMI BEACH, Florida (Reuters) For the first time in years, credit card executives are looking beyond the losses of the financial ...
Mon, May 02, 2011
Fed survey says credit gains uneven
By Mark Felsenthal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Banks made credit easier to get in the first quarter but small companies and consumers were less enthusiastic about ...
Mon, May 02, 2011
Supreme Court to decide credit card arbitration case
By James Vicini
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court said on Monday it would hear an appeal by Synovus Financial Corp and CompuCredit ...
Fri, April 29, 2011
EU hits banks with credit default swap probe
By John O'Donnell and Luke Baker
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The $28 trillion credit default swaps market came under investigation on Friday by the European ...
Wed, April 27, 2011
Credit Suisse hiring binge pays off as Barclays wilts
By Emma Thomasson and Steve Slater
ZURICH/LONDON (Reuters) - A hiring spree helped Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX> post record first-quarter investment banking revenue, outpacing ...
Tue, April 26, 2011
Oklahoma passes tax credit for private school scholarships
By Steve Olafson
OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) -- The Oklahoma House passed a bill on Tuesday supporters said was designed to increase the number of low-income ...
Mon, April 25, 2011
Some signs of life in housing, credit drought goes on
By Nick Carey
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Like an increasing number of well-heeled Americans, the Hodgsons decided it was time to buy a new home, even ...
Mon, April 18, 2011
S&P threatens to cut U.S. credit rating on deficit
By Steven C. Johnson
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Standard & Poor's threatened Monday to downgrade the United States' prized AAA credit rating unless the Obama ...
Fri, April 15, 2011
Swiss diplomat: no talks on Credit Suisse cases
By Kim Dixon
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Swiss government has not waded into the U.S. government's tax evasion cases against Credit Suisse bankers ...
Wed, April 13, 2011
Credit raters triggered financial crisis: panel
By Rachelle Younglai and Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Moody's Corp and Standard and Poor's triggered the worst financial crisis in decades ...
Tue, April 05, 2011
HBO Series Approved For Tax Credit
(Detroit, MI) -- An HBO series set in Metro Detroit has been approved for a Michigan film incentives tax break. "Hung" will get a credit ...
Fri, April 01, 2011
Sokol affair "credit negative" for Berkshire: Moody's
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The resignation of a key lieutenant this week could damage the credit quality of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway <BRKa.N ...
Tue, March 29, 2011
S&P cuts Portugal credit rating to just above junk
LISBON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Standard & Poor's cut its credit rating on Portugal by one notch on Tuesday to just above junk status, its ...
Mon, March 28, 2011
Obama tax credit will support 1 million workers: report
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A plan to expand and make permanent a popular research tax credit will support 1 million workers, the Obama administration said in ...
Sat, March 26, 2011
IMF warns of Latin American overheating and credit bubble risks
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - The head of the International Monetary Fund warned on Saturday that many Latin American economies showed signs of overheating and that ...
Wed, March 23, 2011
Regulators blame banks for credit union losses: report
(Reuters) - U.S. regulators are blaming some of the biggest Wall Street firms for the collapse of five wholesale credit unions and are threatening ...
Mon, March 07, 2011
U.S. consumer credit rises in January on autos
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer credit rose for a fourth straight month in January as households splurged on motor vehicles, further evidence the economy ...
Mon, March 07, 2011
FINRA probes muni firms on credit agency freebies
By Joseph A. Giannone
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Securities industry regulators are investigating municipal bond underwriters over "excessive expenses" in entertaining officials of credit rating ...
Fri, March 04, 2011
Damon angered by credit card rejection
Damon recently relocated to New York with his wife Luciana and their four girls, and they have become frequent customers at the wine shop ...
Wed, February 23, 2011
Credit Suisse bankers indicted in U.S. tax probe
By Kim Dixon
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bankers at a Swiss bank, identified by sources as Credit Suisse, were charged with helping Americans dodge U.S ...
Tue, February 22, 2011
Credit Suisse banker arrested in United States
By Kim Dixon
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX> banker was arrested in New York and was being moved to Florida for a ...
Tue, February 22, 2011
Credit Suisse banker arrested in U.S.: report
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A Credit Suisse banker has been arrested in the United States in connection with a federal investigation into the Swiss bank's ...
Wed, February 16, 2011
New credit card rules not hurting borrowers: study
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A private lending watchdog group said on Wednesday that sweeping rule changes imposed on credit card issuers last year by the U ...
Mon, February 14, 2011
Jackson credit card fraudster jailed
The moviemaker used his card to purchase items online from the Michigan Toy Soldier Company, which is owned by Richard Berry.
Berry then used ...
Wed, February 09, 2011
Earned Income Tax Credit May Be Eliminated
COLDWATER (WTVB) - Branch County Commissioners Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution recognizing the benefits of the Earned Income Tax Credit while a battle is brewing ...
Wed, February 09, 2011
SEC gives credit ratings the cold shoulder
By Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. securities regulators moved to scale back market reliance on credit rating agencies, after the financial crisis ...
Mon, February 07, 2011
Consumer credit rises, supports strong growth view
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumer credit surged in December as shoppers boosted their credit-card debt for the first time in more than two years, supporting views ...
Thu, February 03, 2011
Audit Prompts Change In Tax Credit Rules
WASHINGTON -- The IRS is changing the rules for claiming credits for electric and alternative-fuel vehicles. The changes come after an IRS audit reveals that ...
Fri, January 28, 2011
China rating agency blames U.S. for "credit war"
By Zhou Xin and Kevin Yao
BEIJING/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The ultra-loose monetary policy of the United States is setting the stage for "a ...
Mon, January 24, 2011
Supreme Court rules for JPMorgan on credit cards
By James Vicini
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court ruled that JPMorgan Chase & Co under an old federal regulation did not have to provide written ...
Thu, January 20, 2011
HSBC cuts 500 U.S. jobs, pares credit card work
NEW YORK (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings Plc <HSBA.L> is laying off about 500 employees as it ends credit card customer service and collections work ...
Wed, January 19, 2011
Wells, US Bancorp profit up as credit improves
By Joe Rauch
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) - Wells Fargo and US Bancorp said lending profits are being squeezed by low interest rates, but improving ...
Tue, January 18, 2011
Panel OK's health savings account tax credit
MADISON, Wis. (WSAU) – Wisconsinites who save money for their future health care are one step closer to getting a state tax break for it ...
Mon, December 27, 2010
AIG, Chartis unit sign $4.3 billion credit agreements
By Joe Rauch
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) - Bailed-out insurer American International Group <AIG.N> took another step toward winding down its U.S. government ...
Fri, December 24, 2010
Credit Suisse to sell $2.8 bln CRE portfolio to Apollo: report
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Private equity firm Apollo Management <APOLO.UL> is buying a $2.8 billion portfolio of commercial real estate loans from Credit ...
Tue, December 21, 2010
China may try new ways to manage bank credit
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's central bank is considering changing a key component of its monetary policy management by altering the way it manages bank ...
Tue, December 21, 2010
America One Credit Union Robbed
EMMETT TOWNSHIP (WKZO) -- Emmett Township Police are looking for the tall black male who walked into the America One Credit Union on Main Street ...
Thu, December 16, 2010
Moody's may cut Greek credit rating, now on review
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Moody's Investors Service put Greece's sovereign foreign currency credit rating on review for possible downgrade on Thursday, citing uncertainty ...
Wed, December 15, 2010
Credit card delinquencies, usage fall
By Maria Aspan and Brenton Cordeiro
NEW YORK/BANGALORE (Reuters) - Credit card delinquency rates fell at major U.S. lenders in November as fewer ...
Tue, December 07, 2010
October consumer credit up $3.4 billion
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Total Uconsumer credit rose $3.4 billion in October on rising student loans, which offset a decline in revolving credit, including credit ...
Thu, December 02, 2010
Kardashians end credit card deal
Kim, along with her siblings Khloe and Kourtney, lent their name to the Kardashian Prepaid MasterCard, which lets parents give their children a small ...
Wed, December 01, 2010
Connecticut's attorney general slams Kardashians' credit card
Kim, along with her siblings Khloe and Kourtney, have lent their name to the Kardashian Prepaid MasterCard, which lets parents give their children a ...
Fri, November 19, 2010
Bank analyst Whitney to start credit-rating firm
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street bank analyst Meredith Whitney, who shot to fame correctly predicting the industry's carnage in 2007, is regearing her ...
Fri, November 12, 2010
Icahn ups Dynegy stake, offers $2 billion credit line
BANGALORE (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Carl Icahn increased his stake in Dynegy Inc <DYN.N> to 12.9 percent, said he will vote against Blackstone ...
Mon, November 08, 2010
Goldman, Natixis to clash in court over credit deal
LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) - French investment bank Natixis <CNAT.PA>is due to clash with Wall Street heavyweight Goldman Sachs <GS.N> in a British ...
Mon, November 01, 2010
AIG raises enough to pay off NY Fed credit line
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bailed-out insurer AIG <AIG.N> raised $27.71 billion cash in 10 days with the initial public offering of its Asian ...
Thu, October 21, 2010
Credit Suisse third quarter net profit down on sluggish trading
By Jason Rhodes
ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss bank Credit Suisse's third-quarter net profit tumbled 74 percent to miss forecasts, as sluggish equities trading halved ...
Thu, October 14, 2010
Credit terms ease in last 3 months: Fed survey
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. dealers eased credit terms for hedge funds, insurance companies and other firms in the three months to September, a Federal ...
Tue, October 12, 2010
Banks credit improved in Q3 but growth uncertain
By Maria Aspan and Joe Rauch
NEW YORK/CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) - One of the U.S. banking industry's main methods of pumping ...
Fri, October 08, 2010
Banks credit improved in Q3, growth uncertain
By Maria Aspan and Joe Rauch
NEW YORK/CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) - One of the U.S. banking industry's main methods of pumping ...
Wed, October 06, 2010
Fitch cuts Ireland credit rating
By Carmel Crimmins and Padraic Halpin
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Fitch cut Ireland's credit rating Wednesday and consumer morale slumped as the cost of cleaning ...
Thu, September 30, 2010
90210 star Donovan facing credit card lawsuit
Legal documents were filed on Monday (27Sep10) accusing the actor of applying for a card with Wells Fargo back in 2006 and running up ...
Mon, September 27, 2010
Dourdan facing credit card lawsuit
Heads at HSBC have filed legal papers at Los Angeles County Superior Court, claiming the former CSI: Crime Scene Investigation star has spent $88 ...
Fri, September 24, 2010
Citi renews Zale U.S. credit card deal
By Maria Aspan and Phil Wahba
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc <C.N> has renewed and modified its U.S. private-label credit card partnership ...
Fri, September 24, 2010
U.S. seizes 3 corporate credit unions
By Dave Clarke
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Regulators seized three corporate credit unions on Friday and will repackage about $50 billion in troubled assets from these ...
Thu, September 23, 2010
Credit Suisse commods team leaves to form own fund
By Joseph A. Giannone and Megan Davies
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A senior Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX> commodity executive and a team of traders have ...
Thu, September 23, 2010
Credit Suisse commods team leaves to form own fund
By Joseph A. Giannone and Megan Davies
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A top Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX> commodity trader is leaving the bank, along with ...
Sun, September 12, 2010
UBS, Credit Suisse may need more capital: report
ZURICH (Reuters) - UBS <UBS.N> <UBSN.VX> and Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX> <CS.N> must hold over 20 billion Swiss francs ($19.6 billion ...
Tue, September 07, 2010
NY AG Cuomo strikes student credit-card reform agreement
By Grant McCool
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The State University of New York has adopted new practices to help prevent students from falling victim to ...
Mon, August 30, 2010
Starr sued by credit card bosses
According to a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, Starr and his accounting firm ran up $343,430.87 (GBP228,950) on a Platinum ...
Sun, August 29, 2010
No decision on reviving homebuyer credit: Donovan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration has not decided whether it should resurrect a popular tax credit for first-time homebuyers, Housing and Urban Development Secretary ...
Tue, August 24, 2010
60% of Large WI Credit Unions See Net Incomes Fall
APPLETON, Wis. (WTAQ) - Six of the 10 largest credit unions in Wisconsin saw their net incomes go down in the first half of this ...
Mon, August 23, 2010
Aniston speaks out about credit scam scandal
U.S. Secret Service agents arrested Maria Gabriela Perez for stealing A-list clients' credit card information and making fraudulent charges on their behalf.
Her ...
Mon, August 23, 2010
Tyler, Cher and Aniston caught up in credit card scandal
The trio, as well as stars like Anne Hathaway and Melanie Griffith, have been named in an affidavit obtained by TMZ.com following an ...
Thu, August 19, 2010
Credit card satisfaction up, Amex No. 1: survey
By Liana B. Baker
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Consumers are slightly more satisfied with their credit cards after a new disclosure law came into effect ...
Mon, August 16, 2010
U.S. credit card losses fall more than expected
By Maria Aspan
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fewer Americans fell behind on their credit card payments than expected in July, as consumers coped better with ...
Mon, August 16, 2010
Capital One credit card defaults fall in July
BANGALORE (Reuters) - Capital One Financial Corp's <COF.N> U.S. credit-card defaults continued their decline for the fourth straight month, signaling that fewer ...
Fri, August 13, 2010
Credit Suisse China JV launches largest bond fund
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management Co, the Chinese fund venture of Swiss bank Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX>, said on Friday it raised ...
Thu, August 12, 2010
Kohl's sees costs from new credit cards, shares fall
By Phil Wahba
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Kohl's Corp <KSS.N> gave a profit forecast that missed Wall Street expectations, citing the cost of ...
Tue, July 20, 2010
Experts Say Economic Recovery Held Up By Access to Credit
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (WTAQ) - Small businesses still find it hard to get the credit they need to grow – and experts say it’s holding up ...
Fri, July 16, 2010
BofA profit tops view on improving credit
By Joe Rauch
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp <BAC.N>, the largest U.S. bank by assets, reported higher-than-expected second-quarter profit ...
Tue, July 13, 2010
Fed says credit somewhat looser in last 3 months
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hedge funds and private equity firms had an easier time raising capital in the last three months, but the market for asset-backed ...
Mon, July 12, 2010
Fed to release new dealer credit survey on Tuesday
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve said on Monday it will release on Tuesday the results of a new quarterly lending survey based on terms ...
Mon, July 12, 2010
Bernanke says spurring credit key to rebound
By Mark Felsenthal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Boosting credit to needy small businesses is "crucial" to sustain a tepid U.S. recovery but how to do ...
Fri, July 09, 2010
Credit Scores Can Be Used
LANSING (WKZO) -- A slim 5 to 4 majority on Michigan’s Supreme Court has reversed the decision of a Barry County Judge and ruled ...
Fri, July 09, 2010
Obama urges boosting clean energy tax credit
By Alister Bull
LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - President Barack Obama urged the U.S. Congress on Friday to pass a $5 billion expansion of tax ...
Fri, July 02, 2010
Obama signs 3-month extension of homebuyer credit
By Corbett B. Daly
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Friday signed a law giving consumers already in the process of buying a home ...
Fri, July 02, 2010
GM in talks with banks on $5 billion credit line: source
DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co <GM.UL> is in talks with banks to secure a $5 billion credit revolver as it prepares to file ...
Wed, June 30, 2010
Congress backs home tax credit extension
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Congress on Wednesday approved a bill extending the closing deadline for homebuyers trying to take advantage of a popular tax credit ...
Tue, June 29, 2010
House backs homebuyer tax credit extension
By Corbett B. Daly
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved giving extra time to thousands of homebuyers trying to get a ...
Tue, June 29, 2010
Google near closing $3 billion credit facility: RLPC
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Google Inc <GOOG.O> is expected to close a $3 billion, three-year revolving credit facility this week, marking its first visit ...
Tue, June 29, 2010
Home prices climb on tax credit push
By Lynn Adler
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Single-family home prices unexpectedly climbed in April from March, driven by a final sales push before tax credits ...
Sun, June 27, 2010
Bielsa shuns credit for Chile revival
By Brian Homewood
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Marcelo Bielsa has shunned the credit for the huge improvement in Chilean football that has taken place since he ...
Thu, June 24, 2010
Secretary of State Accepting Credit Cards
LANSING -- Patrons of the Secretary of State's office can now settle their debts with a credit card. All offices are now taking Discover ...
Wed, June 23, 2010
Scammers target U.S. homebuyer credit: watchdog
By Kim Dixon
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. first-time homebuyer credit, aimed at boosting demand amid the recession, is still beset by significant scamming ...
Mon, June 21, 2010
Court to hear Chase's appeal in credit card case
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court said on Monday it would hear JPMorgan Chase & Co's appeal over a lawsuit that says the bank violated ...
Wed, June 16, 2010
Senate votes to extend home tax credit deadline
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate voted on Wednesday to give homebuyers another three months to settle on their contracts and take advantage of a popular ...
Wed, June 16, 2010
PersonalFinance: What to do about your credit cards now
Linda Stern is a freelance writer. Any opinions in the column are hers. You can follow Linda Stern's financial notes on Twitter at ...
Wed, June 16, 2010
EU, IMF deny planning Spain credit line
BRUSSELS/MADRID (Reuters) - The EU and International Monetary Fund on Wednesday denied a report that they and the U.S. Treasury were drawing up ...
Tue, June 15, 2010
Credit card delinquencies fall to 5-month lows
By Maria Aspan
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fewer Americans fell behind on their credit card bills in May, signaling that consumers are closer to getting ...
Tue, June 15, 2010
June homebuilder sentiment falls post-tax credit
By Corbett B. Daly
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Home-builder sentiment fell in June by the sharpest amount since the height of the financial crisis as the ...
Mon, June 14, 2010
House Dems target Senate's credit ratings panel
By Kevin Drawbaugh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House Democrats on Monday moved to kill a Senate plan to shake up the credit rating agency business, a ...
Mon, June 14, 2010
Spain sees credit squeeze but denies EU rescue bid
By Nigel Davies and Carlos Ruano
SANTANDER, Spain (Reuters) - Spain said on Monday that foreign banks were refusing to lend to some of its ...
Thu, June 03, 2010
BP credit ratings cut as oil-spill costs mount
By Sarah Young and Paul Hoskins
LONDON (Reuters) - Fitch Ratings downgraded BP <BP.L>, reversing its view that the Gulf of Mexico oil spill ...
Wed, June 02, 2010
Buffett fails to wow crisis panel on credit raters
By Elinor Comlay, Kim Dixon and Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Oracle of Omaha, for once, may have failed to impress his audience ...
Wed, May 26, 2010
Without tax credit, home demand keeps slumping
By Lynn Adler
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Home buying applications sank for a fifth straight week to a fresh 13-year low, the Mortgage Bankers Association ...
Mon, May 17, 2010
U.S. credit card delinquencies down again in April
By Joe Rauch
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) - U.S. credit card delinquencies fell for the fourth straight month in April, the latest indicator that ...
Thu, May 13, 2010
Senate votes to curb credit, debit card fees
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate approved a measure on Thursday that would let the Federal Reserve regulate debit card fees and help merchants take steps ...
Thu, May 13, 2010
Healthcare bill poses credit risk for nonprofits
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. healthcare overhaul bill will provide insurance coverage for millions of Americans and possibly lower healthcare cost inflation, but ...
Thu, May 13, 2010
Former Lehman execs launch distressed structured credit fund
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Former Lehman Brothers Asia executives, who headed the bank's structured products division and its syndicate business, have launched their maiden ...
Wed, May 12, 2010
More U.S. home sellers cut prices as tax credit ends
By Lynn Adler
NEW YORK (Reuters) - More U.S. home sellers cut their listing prices in April, aiming to seal deals in the waning ...
Tue, May 11, 2010
Senate backs curbs on credit raters, card fees
By Kevin Drawbaugh and Andy Sullivan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate on Thursday voted to limit fees charged on credit and debit card transactions, and ...
Fri, May 07, 2010
Local Businesses Should Be Aware Of Credit Card Scam
COLDWATER (WTVB) - Coldwater City Police say they want the public to know about a credit card scam that is targeting businesses in the area ...
Wed, May 05, 2010
Senator revives credit card fee reform
By Kevin Drawbaugh and Maria Aspan
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The No. 2 Democrat in the U.S. Senate said on Wednesday he will ...
Wed, May 05, 2010
Senator seeks credit card fee plan in bank bill
By Kevin Drawbaugh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The No. 2 Democrat in the U.S. Senate said on Wednesday he will push to amend a massive ...
Wed, May 05, 2010
Home loan demand up in tax credit's last days
By Lynn Adler
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Demand for loans to buy U.S. homes raced to a seven-month high last week in the last ...
Tue, May 04, 2010
S&P launches new credit scores for 26,000 companies
NEW YORK (Reuters) - S&P Valuation and Risk Strategies, part of McGraw-Hill Co's <MHP.N> Standard & Poor's, has launched a new credit ...
Wed, April 28, 2010
Tax credit end not deterring homebuyers
By Julie Haviv
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Home buyer tax credits have been a boon to the U.S. housing market, but their expiration this ...
Fri, April 23, 2010
Goldman CDO man wrote "How I caused credit crunch"
By Douwe Miedema
LONDON (Reuters) - The writer of a book entitled "How I caused the credit crunch" worked for the unit of Goldman Sachs ...
Tue, April 20, 2010
Target to issue Target-only credit card
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Target Corp <TGT.N> is taking the Visa out of its proprietary credit card, issuing instead a Target Credit card to qualifying ...
Fri, April 16, 2010
Chris Rock sets comic sights on devilish credit
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - His new movie opened in theaters on Friday, but already comedian Chris Rock has set his sight on a new film ...
Fri, April 16, 2010
Credit Suisse taps JPM exec to head India i-banking
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Credit Suisse is hiring Vedika Bhandarkar, a veteran investment banker at rival JPMorgan <JPM.N>, to beef up its investment banking business ...
Thu, April 15, 2010
Fewer Americans falling behind on credit cards
By Maria Aspan
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Credit card delinquency rates fell last month at most major U.S. lenders, with the exception of Citigroup ...
Thu, April 15, 2010
Fewer Americans falling behind on credit cards
By Maria Aspan
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Credit card delinquency rates fell last month at major U.S. lenders, including Bank of America Corp and ...
Thu, April 15, 2010
Capital One credit card defaults rise in March
(Reuters) - Capital One Financial Corp's <COF.N> U.S. credit-card defaults rose in March in a sign that consumers may still be under ...
Sat, April 10, 2010
Prospera Credit Union Closing Three Locations
APPLETON, Wis. (WTAQ) - Prospera Credit Union is closing its Grand Chute branch, as well as GoodMoney payday lending stores in Green Bay and Buchanan ...
Wed, April 07, 2010
Consumer credit unexpectedly falls in Feb
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer credit unexpectedly tumbled in February, reversing the prior month's surprise increase, as households refrained from taking on new ...
Wed, March 31, 2010
Moody's: Kimberly, 4 Other School Districts on Credit Rating Watch List
KIMBERLY, Wis. (WTAQ) - 5 Wisconsin school districts that lost almost $200 million in risky retirement investments might end up paying even more when they ...
Tue, March 30, 2010
Invesco Aim picks credit card stocks to ride recovery
By Supantha Mukherjee
BANGALORE (Reuters) - Bets on U.S. credit card companies may fetch gains for investors as the firms are set to benefit ...
Wed, March 24, 2010
Granholm Changes Tax Credit Application Process
(Lansing, MI) -- After an embarrassment in which a convicted embezzler won a nine-million-dollar tax abatement, Governor Granholm has made changes to the application process ...
Sun, March 21, 2010
Credit Suisse restricts bankers' travel to Germany
ZURICH (Reuters) - Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX> said it is restricting bankers' travel to Germany after authorities there said they had launched 1,100 tax ...
Tue, March 16, 2010
NYS film tax credit key economic driver: comptroller
NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York state's film tax credit has generated about $7 billion in economic activity since 2004 and become a key ...
Mon, March 15, 2010
Credit card data hints at U.S. consumer rebound
By Jonathan Spicer
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Credit card delinquency rates improved at JPMorgan Chase & Co and a majority of others -- a sign the lenders ...
Wed, March 10, 2010
Brown says UK to maintain AAA credit rating
By Keith Weir and Matt Falloon
LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Wednesday he believed Britain would maintain its coveted top credit ...
Fri, March 05, 2010
Consumer credit posts first rise in a year
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Total U.S. consumer credit rose $4.96 billion in January, its first rise in a year and the largest for any ...
Wed, March 03, 2010
Fed seeks limit on credit card penalty fees
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday proposed another new rule to strengthen consumer protections against abusive practices by credit card issuers ...
Tue, March 02, 2010
Brussels to probe credit default swap trading: report
LONDON (Reuters) - EU internal market commissioner Michel Barnier was quoted on Wednesday as saying Brussels would conduct an internal investigation into the trading of ...
Tue, March 02, 2010
BofA to merge credit card, deposit units
By Joe Rauch
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) - A former MBNA Corp executive who runs Bank of America Corp's <BAC.N> global card services ...
Thu, February 25, 2010
WI Credit Unions Saw Growth In 2009
MADISON, Wis. (WTAQ) - Confidence in Wisconsin's credit unions and banks is strong at a time when more consumers appear to be wary of ...
Mon, February 22, 2010
U.S. credit card charge-offs up, delinquencies ease
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. credit card sector posted mixed performance in January as charge-offs rose sharply, while early stage delinquencies declined for ...
Mon, February 22, 2010
Obama heralds credit card rules
By Elinor Comlay
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Obama administration heralded new rules protecting U.S. credit card holders from certain fees and rate increases ...
Sat, February 20, 2010
Credit cards implicate Mossad in Dubai hit: report
DUBAI (Reuters) - New evidence incriminating Israel's spy agency in the assassination of a Hamas commander in Dubai includes credit card payments and phone ...
Tue, February 16, 2010
Credit card delinquency rates level off
By Dan Wilchins and Jonathan Spicer
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The percentage of Americans falling behind on credit card bills stabilized in January, according to ...
Sun, February 14, 2010
L.A. budget crisis threatens jobs, credit rating
By Steve Gorman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Los Angeles, the second-largest city in the United States, is confronting a mounting budget deficit that threatens to ...
Fri, February 12, 2010
JPMorgan faces lawsuit from credit card holder
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former JPMorgan Chase & Co credit card customer has sued the nation's second-largest bank, accusing it of raising the interest ...
Thu, February 11, 2010
Credit Suisse says at strongest since crisis hit
By Lisa Jucca
ZURICH (Reuters) - Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX> boss Brady Dougan said the Swiss bank was winning client money and transactions faster than ...
Fri, February 05, 2010
December consumer credit down for 11th straight month
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A weak job market and tight credit conditions caused consumer credit to fall $1.73 billion in December, the eleventh straight monthly ...
Fri, January 29, 2010
Obama unveils $33 billion tax credit to boost jobs
By Steve Holland
BALTIMORE (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Friday proposed $33 billion in tax credits to coax small businesses into hiring workers as ...
Sat, January 23, 2010
Saudi Zain in credit talks after missing commitments
By Souhail Karam
RIYADH (Reuters) - Zain Saudi Arabia <7030.SE>, the kingdom's newest mobile phone operator, said on Saturday it is in talks ...
Fri, January 22, 2010
U.S. regional banks' credit woes persist, but ease
By Joe Rauch and Elinor Comlay
CHARLOTTE, N.C./NEW YORK (Reuters) - Three major regional banks said loan problems buffeted fourth-quarter results but may ...
Wed, January 20, 2010
BofA posts wider loss, but says credit stabilizing
By Joe Rauch
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp <BAC.N> reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss, hurt by still-high loan losses and ...
Tue, January 19, 2010
Analysts expect BofA loss amid credit, TARP
By Joe Rauch
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp <BAC.N> likely will post another loss when it reports fourth-quarter earnings on ...
Tue, January 19, 2010
Credit Suisse cuts bonus pool by 5 percent to pay UK tax
ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss banking heavyweight Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX> says it will reduce its global bonus pool by 5 percent to pay for a ...
Sun, January 17, 2010
Credit Suisse to expand Asia prime services
By Parvathy Ullatil
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX> will increase the headcount in its prime brokerage team in Asia by 15 percent ...
Fri, January 15, 2010
Credit card charge-offs slip at most U.S. companies
By Jonathan Spicer
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. credit card data for December showed some signs that fewer consumers were falling seriously behind in ...
Tue, January 12, 2010
China consumers to overtake U.S. in a decade: Credit Suisse
BEIJING (Reuters) -Household income in China surged in the last six years, especially for top earners, putting the country on track to eclipse the ...
Mon, January 04, 2010
Credit Suisse sued over resorts, $24 billion sought
By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Credit Suisse Group AG <CSGN.VX> has been sued by property owners in four luxury ski and golf ...
Tue, December 29, 2009
Tax Credit Extended for Donated Vehicles
LANSING -- Governor Jennifer Granholm has signed legislation that extends tax credits for individuals or couples who donate vehicles to nonprofit groups. Area charity organizations ...
Thu, December 24, 2009
Treasury uncaps credit line for Fannie, Freddie
By Corbett B. Daly
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration pledged on Thursday to back beleaguered mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae <FNM.N> and Freddie ...
Tue, December 22, 2009
State's Credit Unions See Income Fall 28.5%
MADISON (WRN) - Wisconsin credit unions saw their net income go down by 28.5 percent in the first 9 months of this year. The ...
Sun, December 20, 2009
Valentino documentary kept afloat by credit cards
By Martin A. Grove
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Making the shortlist for the best documentary feature Oscar is icing on the cake for "Valentino ...
Wed, December 16, 2009
Fine for Credit Suisse raises Iran alarm
By Lisa Jucca and Steve Slater
ZURICH/LONDON (Reuters) - A surprise $536 million settlement by Credit Suisse to a U.S. probe over financial ...
Tue, December 15, 2009
CME Group begins clearing credit derivatives
By Jonathan Spicer
NEW YORK (Reuters) - CME Group Inc <CME.O> began clearing U.S.-based credit derivatives on Tuesday, aiming to capitalize on ...
Tue, December 15, 2009
Credit card chargeoffs rise in November
By Juan Lagorio
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Most U.S. credit card companies reported charge-offs rose in November after two months of declines in a ...
Sun, December 06, 2009
The great American credit contraction rolls on
By Pedro Nicolaci da Costa
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans face the seemingly intractable dilemma of having to reduce their levels of debt but not so ...
Mon, November 30, 2009
U.S. banks have recognized most credit losses: Goldman
(Reuters) - U.S. banks have already recognized two-thirds of an estimated $2.1 trillion to $2.6 trillion in credit losses, but prime mortgage ...
Wed, November 25, 2009
Credit card usury bill coming soon in House
By Kevin Drawbaugh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Several congressional Democrats said on Wednesday they plan to introduce legislation next week to cap credit card interest rates ...
Mon, November 23, 2009
Health care reform may hurt hospital credit
NEW YORK (Reuters) - High-cost urban U.S. hospitals may face debt rating downgrades if large cuts to Medicare funding are implemented as part of ...
Wed, November 18, 2009
Geithner: Tight small business credit hurts recovery
By David Lawder
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Wednesday called on banks to "get back to the business of lending ...
Tue, November 17, 2009
Tax credit to steady, not rescue, shaky U.S. housing
By Lynn Adler
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Don't expect the expanded home buyer tax credit to be a permanent cure for the U.S ...
Mon, November 16, 2009
U.S. credit card defaults fall, but delinquencies up
By Juan Lagorio
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. credit card companies said defaults fell more than expected in October, but delinquencies mostly rose in ...
Tue, November 10, 2009
U.S. Bancorp looks to expand credit card business
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Bancorp <USB.N>, the sixth-largest U.S. bank by assets, is looking to expand its credit card business and ...
Thu, November 05, 2009
BofA: Credit card loss rate could have peaked in Q3
By Joe Rauch
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp's <BAC.N> credit card loss rate may have peaked in the third ...
Thu, October 29, 2009
Homebuyer tax credit extension to be final: senator
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The expected extension and expansion of a popular home-buyer tax credit should be the last extension Congress should consider, the tax credit ...
Thu, October 29, 2009
Obama admin urges Congress extend homebuyer credit
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Thursday pressed Congress to back a limited extension of a popular first-time homebuyer tax credit that is set ...
Wed, October 28, 2009
CIT secures $4.5 billion credit facility
By Elinor Comlay and Dan Wilchins
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Commercial lender CIT Group Inc <CIT.N>, teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, said on ...
Wed, October 28, 2009
Senators eye extending home credit to end of April: sources
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A popular U.S. tax credit for first-time homebuyers would be extended until the end of April and expanded to cover repeat ...
Tue, October 27, 2009
Senators eye extending home credit to end of April
By Andy Sullivan and Corbett B. Daly
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate's top Democrat and top Republican each voiced support on Wednesday ...
Mon, October 26, 2009
Senate to vote on home buy credit extension
By Corbett B. Daly
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate could vote on Tuesday to extend a popular tax break for home buyers that ...
Mon, October 26, 2009
Freeze credit card rates, says Sen. Dodd
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd said on Monday he was introducing legislation calling for a temporary freeze on credit card interest ...
Fri, October 23, 2009
Senate leader wants homebuyer credit extended
By Corbett B. Daly
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - First-time U.S. homebuyers could get more time to take advantage of a popular tax credit that is ...
Thu, October 22, 2009
Credit Suisse upbeat after topping Q3 forecasts
By Lisa Jucca
ZURICH (Reuters) - Credit Suisse Group AG <CSGN.VX> said it was upbeat about its prospects after exceeding third-quarter net profit forecasts ...
Tue, October 20, 2009
Credit Suisse changes executive pay structure
By Juan Lagorio and Lisa Jucca
NEW YORK/ZURICH (Reuters) - Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX> said on Tuesday it would make executives wait three-to-four years ...
Tue, October 20, 2009
IRS warned again of homebuyer credit fraud
By Kim Dixon
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The internal watchdog for the U.S. Internal Revenue Service is expected to warn the agency for the fourth ...
Tue, October 20, 2009
Obama to increase credit to small businesses
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will announce a package of initiatives on Wednesday to increase credit to small businesses, an administration official said on ...
Tue, October 20, 2009
Congress panel trims credit rating agency bill
By Kevin Drawbaugh and Rachelle Younglai
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. congressional committee has dropped a key provision from a financial reform bill aimed ...
Tue, October 20, 2009
IRS probing home-buyer tax credit claims: report
(Reuters) - The U.S. Internal Revenue Service is probing more than 100,000 doubtful claims of a tax credit meant for first-time home buyers ...
Mon, October 19, 2009
BB&T report slumps as credit issues weigh
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) - BB&T Corp <BBT.N> said on Monday third-quarter profit fell 56 percent as continuing credit issues weighed on results ...
Thu, October 15, 2009
Citi still playing catch-up as credit losses bite
By Dan Wilchins
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc <C.N> posted a quarterly per-share loss as it suffered $8 billion of credit losses, raising ...
Thu, October 15, 2009
Capital One credit card defaults rise in September
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Capital One Financial Corp's <COF.N> U.S. credit-card defaults rose in September as more Americans lost their jobs, in ...
Sun, October 11, 2009
Small firms face credit squeeze as crisis drags
By Nick Carey
SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Small companies create more than half of America's jobs, but the entrepreneurs who drive this part of ...
Thu, October 08, 2009
House votes to extend home credit for military
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to extend a first-time homebuyers' tax credit for overseas military members through ...
Thu, October 08, 2009
Democrats want credit card reform effective sooner
By Karey Wutkowski
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Credit card issuers' recent actions prove that lawmakers should move up the effective date of new restrictions on card ...
Thu, October 01, 2009
IOC finances are solid despite credit crunch: Rogge
By Karolos Grohmann
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - The International Olympic Committee has so far weathered the economic crisis, emerging largely unscathed and with its finances still ...
Wed, September 30, 2009
Two U.S. House panels take aim at credit raters
By Rachelle Younglai
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. congressional panel is expanding its probe of credit rating agencies to look at why securities regulators ...
Tue, September 29, 2009
Fed pursues tough new U.S. credit card rules
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve on Tuesday proposed tough new credit card rules to protect consumers from potentially costly practices by lenders ...
Thu, September 24, 2009
Democrats introduce bill to speed up credit card rules
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two Democratic lawmakers on Thursday introduced legislation that could speed up the implementation date of new credit card rules by nearly three ...
Wed, September 23, 2009
Democrats seek to speed up credit card rules
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two U.S. lawmakers plan to introduce legislation that would bring forward new regulations limiting credit card interest rates and fees by ...
Wed, September 23, 2009
U.S. credit card defaults rise to record: Moody's
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. credit card charge-off rate rose to a record high in August, as more Americans lost their jobs, Moody ...
Thu, September 17, 2009
SEC rules take aim at credit rating agencies
By Karey Wutkowski
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Credit agencies will have to disclose more of their ratings history, and creators of financial products will have to ...
Thu, September 17, 2009
Homebuyer credit used by 1.4 million taxpayers: IRS
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. tax authorities on Thursday said that 1.4 million taxpayers have used an $8,000 homebuyer tax credit so far ...
Wed, September 16, 2009
Credit card losses climb with jobless rate in Aug
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A weak U.S. labor market led to bigger bank writedowns of credit card debt in August as a record-high jobless ...
Wed, September 16, 2009
White House economic team evaluating home tax credit
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House economic advisers are looking at the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers and will make a recommendation to ...
Wed, September 16, 2009
Rep. Frank eyes sooner credit card rules start date
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Rep. Barney Frank may introduce a bill to advance the implementation date to December 1 for new regulations limiting credit ...
Tue, September 15, 2009
U.S. credit card defaults up, signal consumer stress
By Juan Lagorio
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc customers defaulted on their credit card debts in August at the ...
Fri, September 11, 2009
After Lehman, U.S. firms adjust to new face of credit
By Walden Siew
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A year after the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers <LEHMQ.PK>, frozen credit markets are piecing themselves ...
Tue, September 08, 2009
July consumer credit falls a record $21.6 billion
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Total U.S. consumer credit fell by a record $21.6 billion in July, Federal Reserve data showed on Tuesday, the latest ...
Tue, September 08, 2009
Credit card losses seen up, staying high
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Standard & Poor's said on Tuesday U.S. credit card losses declined in July, but forecast bad loans would soon resume ...
Tue, September 08, 2009
Sprint withdraws $100 credit offer for new Pre users
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sprint Nextel Corp on Tuesday withdrew an offer on its Web site of a $100 service credit for new subscribers that ...
Wed, September 02, 2009
Credit Suisse eyes private bank buys, no word on ING
ZURICH (Reuters) - Credit Suisse's <CSGN.VX> Private Banking head Walter Berchtold said the bank is on the look out for acquisitions, but would ...
Tue, September 01, 2009
U.S. credit card satisfaction down amid higher rates: poll
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. consumers satisfaction with credit cards plummeted in 2009, driven by anger due to fees and higher interest rates, according ...
Mon, August 31, 2009
U.S. credit card hacker's lawyer says client not ringleader
By Ross Kerber
BOSTON (Reuters) - An attorney for the hacker whom U.S. authorities painted as an organizer of one of the largest payment-card ...
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