October 2008 - Posts
-
Early recognition of subprime exposures has helped the bank manage the fortunes of its struggling consumer finance company. Chalk it up to the bank's early recognition of its subprime exposures, a parent company with a good name and plenty of geographical...
Read More...
|
-
Carnival, Lee Enterprises, Asbury Automotive are latest to eliminate payouts to preserve cash in hard times. The dash for cash has led a raft of additional companies to suspend or slash their dividends. The latest examples: cruise-line operator Carnival...
Read More...
|
-
In the face of harsh critics, IASB releases a how-to document on fair value accounting that tackles some thorny issues. No accounting rules were changed, and the guidance to clarify the rules stayed the same as well — except perhaps for the addition...
Read More...
|
-
The SEC has been tardy with its accounting roadmap for international standards, leaving some to wonder if the project has gone off course. The road to creating a single set of global accounting standards could be about to hit a detour. An educational...
Read More...
|
-
The answer to terrible economic conditions at one bank — Chicago-based Corus — involves cutting off new-loan originations. It may seem a strange way for a bank to do business. But Chicago-based Corus Bankshares Inc.'s plan for dealing...
Read More...
|
-
Some in Congress are critical and note the possibility of abuse, including from one recent change in the tax code's Section 382. A little-noticed tax break that the Internal Revenue Service recently began providing to acquisitive banks may be stimulating...
Read More...
|
-
Under bankruptcy protection, retailers like Levitz and Mervyn's lead the way in choosing liquidation over reorganization. In another sign of mounting recessionary pressure, companies filing for bankruptcy recently — especially retailers —...
Read More...
|
-
Fight the urge to take the safe course, watch out for customers' credit-worthiness, be open to new roles — and don't take a vacation. When the shooting starts — literally or figuratively — the best advice is usually to keep your...
Read More...
|
-
America's economy is shrinking as consumers stop spending. It is official: the American consumer, for so long the main force driving the global economy, has cracked. Figures released on Thursday October 30th showed that America's economy shrank...
Read More...
|
-
The stock exchange suspends it listing suspension rule to prevent a wholesale delisting of companies. Desperate times call for less regulation? At least when it comes to Nasdaq. The massive losses suffered by a large majority of stocks — especially...
Read More...
|
-
Have chief financial officers ever mattered more—or been less prepared? "THERE is no Armageddon scenario," said Keith Sherin, the chief financial officer (CFO) of GE in an interview in July with 247wallst.com, a website. Two months later...
Read More...
|
-
Corporate issues get healthier by the day, with A-rated offerings by Verizon, Kimberly-Clark, Estee Lauder, and Coke just since Wednesday. Each day, the corporate bond market slow shows more signs of life. On Wednesday and Thursday alone, at least four...
Read More...
|
-
Deutsche Bank earns $530m after the IASB adjusts a fair value rule, changing a $2.5b writedown to $1.5b. A recent accounting rule change issued by the International Accounting Standards Board seems to have staved off third-quarter trouble for at least...
Read More...
|
-
Newcomers include three former CFOs; David Becker, Samuel Ranzilla, and Lynn Turner are reappointed to two-year terms. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board appointed 11 new members to its Standing Advisory Group for the 2009-2010 term and made...
Read More...
|
-
Fed report for week ended Oct. 29 show first increase since Lehman filed for bankruptcy protection in September. The commercial paper market continues to return to life, with the Federal Reserve reporting that total outstanding paper rose by $100.5 billion...
Read More...
|
-
It changes the way it presents commodity derivatives within its segments. Sara Lee Corp. restated its results for the past two fiscal years, and quarterly results for fiscal 2008, reflecting fair-value issues and other accounting changes. The maker of...
Read More...
|
-
Key Bank dropped plans to acquire other banks this year because of fair value's entry into rules for business combinations. Fair-value accounting drove Key Bank's decision earlier this year to abandon all its acquisition plans. And the explanation...
Read More...
|
-
With rates down to 1 percent, the Fed may next try more unconventional steps. AFTER the most eventful and creative six weeks in the history of central banking, a half-point interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday October 29th was almost...
Read More...
|
-
Attorney General Cuomo, in a letter to nine financial institutions, says that using Fed money for bonuses could be considered "illegal fraudulent conveyances," and lead to prosecution. Warning that banks could be prosecuted in New York if their...
Read More...
|
-
Things were fine before the accounting standards-setters barged in and "destroyed hundreds of billions of dollars of capital," he contends. In perhaps the most sweeping indictment of fair-value accounting to date, the chairman of the Federal...
Read More...
|
-
Reduction is 50 basis points, as board notes that "pace of economic activity appears to have slowed markedly, owing importantly to a decline in consumer expenditures." The Federal Reserve statement, on its cut in the federal funds rate to 1...
Read More...
|
-
A report says Chrysler private-equity owner Cerberus has resolved issues that stood in the way of a merger of the automaking giants. A blockbuster merger between General Motors and Chrysler may have turned the corner toward reality. GM and private equity...
Read More...
|
-
Impact of market collapse on defined benefit plans has companies banding together so they won't have to meet requirements of the Pension Protection Act of 2006. With the global stock market collapse sending assets of traditional pensions into a tailspin...
Read More...
|
-
With competition for admission tightening, experts offer some tips on getting in for those seeking a mid-career boost. The application deadline for most MBA programs commencing next fall is still a few months away, but business schools are already seeing...
Read More...
|
-
More than a third of financial services workers think they'll get bigger bonuses this year, a survey shows. Some of them may be in for a surprise. Despite this year's Wall Street carnage, more than two-thirds of financial services professionals...
Read More...
|
More Posts Next page »
|
|
|
|
|