| Bank of America Card Services Executive Struthers to Present at Credit ...
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Bank of America North America Card Services Executive Ric Struthers will participate in the Credit Suisse Financial Services Forum on Thursday, February 7, 2008 at 2:45 p.m. EST in Naples, Florida. The live webcast and presentation will be accessible through the Bank of America Investor Relations Web site at http://investor.bankofamerica.com. Bank of America Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk-management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving more than 59 million consumer and small business relationships with more than 6,100 retail banking offices, nearly 19,000 ATMs and award-winning online banking with nearly 24 million active users.
Just Rewards?
Cash back, frequent-flier miles, gift certificates: more than 55% of all credit-card offers have some type of reward attached to them, according to the latest survey by Mintel's Comperemedia, a company that monitors direct-mail solicitations nationwide. Needless to say, the rewards can be great. Every time you use your Chase Disney card, for example, 1% of your purchases goes into an account you can use to pay for trips to Disneyland and Disney World. You get a check for $25 every time you spend $2,500 on your Chase Free Cash Rewards card. Signing up for a rewards program seems like a no-brainer. After all, it's a free perk, right? .
Blair Underwood Gets Dirty
Meet Dirty Sexy Moneys new gazillionaire-Blair Underwood. ABC has been saying that his official debut playing Simon Elder wont happen until next week, but sources tell me his big reveal is actually tonight. So, who is the mysterious Mr. Elder? Underwood has been sworn to secrecy, but he did give up some details when I chatted with him earlier this week. .
Will O2 woes burst the iPhone's bubble?
I surfed without any difficulty at home and in the office, as well as in coffee shops, pubs and simply walking down the street. The trade-off of having to use Wi-Fi instead of 3G (which isn't supported by the iPhone) is made a little easier if you spend a lot of time near a hotspot operated by The Cloud, the wireless provider that has struck a deal with Apple and O2 to offer unlimited access to any iPhone customer. Most of us, however, will use the wireless access in a more limited way. Still, it's surprisingly good on battery life: even with heavy browsing, listening to music and making calls, the phone managed to come through the test period on just a few charges and without dying once. Here Apple has the chance to benefit from harnessing iPod behaviour such as the nightly docking ritual.
Second Freehold Township skateboarder dies
A 12-year-old Freehold Township boy who was critically injured while skateboarding has died following the accident that killed his 13-year-old friend, authorities said. Graeme Preston, who was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune after being hit by a minivan Wednesday, died at about 5 p.m. Thursday, township police Lt. Lawrence Loos said tonight. .
Local stocks tumble on KKR debt fears
LOCAL stocks closed down sharply amid credit crunch fears after a report said US-listed KKR Financial has delayed big debt repayments. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped 122.6 points, or 2.18 per cent, to 5496.5, while the broader All Ordinaries dropped 111.3 points, or 1.96 per cent, to 5577.3, according to unofficial data. In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index had slumped 2.4 per cent by late afternoon, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was 1.6 per cent lower. KKR, an affiliate of the private equity group, has delayed repayment of billions of dollars of commercial paper for the second time and begun restructuring talks with creditors less than six months after a rescue rights issue, The Financial Times said. The Australian bourse was down about 0.4 per cent for most of the session, and then fell steeply in late afternoon trade after the KKR report circulated among dealers.
US embargo of Cuba to stay in force after Castro quits
It would betray my conscience to take up a responsibility that requires mobility and total commitment that I am not in physical condition to offer." Western leaders responded by calling for democratic reforms in Cuba but John Negroponte, the deputy US Secretary of State, confirmed that the US would not be lifting its embargo, saying: "I can’t imagine that happening anytime soon." Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential hopeful, later issued a statement however saying that the US should consider easing the trade embargo if progress was made. "If the Cuban leadership begins opening Cuba to meaningful democratic change, the United States must be prepared to begin taking steps to normalise relations and to ease the embargo of the last five decades," he said.
US services data, bid talk help FTSE gain 1.5 pct
Other European shares also ended higher, mirroring a trend in U.S. stock markets after a better-than-expected reading for a gauge of U.S. service sector activity. See [ID:nWEN4340] "Wall Street has been generally impressed with the economic data as this is heaping on the pressure for the Fed to effect another rate cut later in the month which will further boost the popularity of stocks," said Jimmy Yates, a trader at CMC Markets. The UK's blue-chip index has now fallen over 9 percent this year on fears of a U.S. recession and further credit-related writedowns by financial institutions. Among shares, talk of a rescue deal for ailing U.S. bond insurer Ambac Financial Group (ABK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) boosted insurers. Prudential (PRU.L: Quote, Profile, Research) was 6.8 percent higher after shareholders in China's Ping An Insurance (2318.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) (601318.SS: Quote, Profile, Research) approved a plan to raise about $17 billion, prompting fresh speculation it could take a stake in a European insurer.
As the going gets tough, DJs aims higher
UPMARKET department store David Jones is aiming even higher in a move to insulate its business from the expected downturn in retail spending over the next few years. The retailer's 2009-2012 strategic plan released yesterday is aimed at using the spending slowdown to cement its position at the head of the pack ahead of an forecast upturn in the retail environment from 2011. DJs said a greater focus on cost cutting and margin growth would allow it to maintain annual profit growth of 5-10 per cent despite flatish sales growth throughout the three-year period. The centrepieces of the plan are a credit card alliance with American Express, the opening of four to eight new stores in high spending locations, and refurbishment of up to 14 of its most profitable stores.
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