| Earni Young | More questions - and answers - on credit scores | | Posted Monday, March 12, 2007 2:50:44 PM by Blog57 Team | | MY RECENT SERIES of columns on first steps for home-buyers - particularly the Feb. 5 column on credit scoring - generated a lot of questions. The score is growing in importance, and its impact on consumers' lives is growing, too. So, I decided to tackle a few of the e-mails that column generated. QUESTION: My girlfriend and I were thinking of purchasing a home in the city this spring. I bought a car in November, so I have a new outstanding auto loan of about $18,000. How much will that hurt my credit score? Also, if we are buying the house together, do lenders look at both of our credit scores and come up with a single number for the two of us? - Kevin Thompkins, Philadelphia ANSWER: Mortgage banker Kevin Berju of Trident Mortgage says when there are two mortgage applicants, lenders typically use the lower credit score.... | |
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| | | CDO Surge Squeezes Deutsche Bank, Vanguard Bond Funds (Update2) | | Posted Tuesday, February 06, 2007 12:50:13 PM by Blog57 Team | | Feb. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Credit derivatives, the fastest- growing business on Wall Street, are squeezing returns for bondholders to an all-time low. Contracts that protect investors against defaults are being sold in record numbers and then bundled into securities known as collateralized debt obligations. CDOs are driving down the cost to protect against non-payment so much that even the government of Argentina, which reneged on $95 billion of debt five years ago, is paying less than ever to borrow. ``CDOs are changing the economics of investing in corporate bonds,'' said Lorenzo Isla, head of structured credit research at Barclays Capital in London. ``By expanding the investor base for corporate credit risk, they compress the spreads available to corporate bond investors.'' Bondholders have halved the amount they charge high-risk companies in the past four years to a record-low 2.6 percentage points on average over U.S.... | |
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| | | Japan's OMC,Marui to combine credit card operations | | Posted Tuesday, January 23, 2007 2:50:40 PM by Blog57 Team | | TOKYO, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Japanese credit card issuer OMC Card Inc. and retailer Marui Co. will effectively combine their credit card operations, aiming to cut system costs as regulatory changes weigh on their earnings outlook. Credit card companies face an increasingly tough business environment as their revenues are expected to fall due to tighter lending rules. System-development costs are also on the rise as the number of cardholders grows. OMC Card, an affiliate of retailer Daiei Inc. , and Marui, said on Tuesday the two firms would set up a joint venture in March to handle most credit card operations such as application processes, the issuance of cards and settlements. Operations such as marketing and accounting will remain at each company. OMC Card spokesman Toshiharu Kawauchi said the firms aim to have more companies join in the venture to cut system costs even further.... | |
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| | | Early Watch: AM Best Affirms Financial Strength Rating and Issuer ... | | Posted Saturday, January 13, 2007 12:52:01 PM by Blog57 Team | | Citigroup, Inc., (NYSE:C) through its subsidiaries, provides financial services to consumer and corporate customers worldwide. Its Global Consumer segment provides various banking, lending, insurance, and investment services through a network of local branches; offices; and electronic delivery systems, including automated teller machines, automated lending machines, and Internet. Shares are up .4% with over 7.2 million in volume. A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of "a" of Citi Assurance Services Group's two life/health companies, American Health and Life Insurance Company and its subsidiary, Sears Life Insurance Company (collectively referred to as AHL). The Texas-domiciled companies are indirect subsidiaries of Citigroup, Inc.... | |
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| | | Venezuelan companies become science investors | | Posted Friday, January 05, 2007 2:52:08 PM by Blog57 Team | | Large companies in Venezuela must contribute between 0.5 and two per cent of their annual income to science, technology and innovation programmes, according to a law that came into force this week. It is hoped that the new law will stimulate investment, particularly in sectors of the economy that have stagnated recently. The mandatory 'science spend' is intended to encourage increased competition by Venezuelan companies in foreign markets as well as at home. The Organic Law of Science, Technology and Innovation applied as of 1 January 2007 to all companies, public and private, with annual gross revenues above US$ 1.5 million. The amount contributed depends on the type of company — two per cent for hydrocarbon operations, one per cent for mining and electricity firms and 0.5 per cent for other sectors.... | |
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| | | Toll to split into two companies | | Posted Wednesday, December 13, 2006 12:53:26 PM by Blog57 Team | | MELBOURNE: Toll Holdings Ltd, Australia's biggest transport group, plans to spin off its infrastructure assets to its shareholders in a new company, freeing up capital for Toll's logistics arm to expand overseas. Toll's shares jumped 2.7 per cent to $A18.75 ($NZ21.58) in early trade, valuing the group's equity at $A11.8 ($NZ13.58) billion. The plan stems from a strategic review Toll did after taking over both Australia's top ports operator, Patrick Corp, and Singapore-based SembCorp Logistics for about $A7 ($NZ8.05) billion earlier this year. The split allows Toll to appease competition concerns and at the same time lets its shareholders continue to own all of the assets it acquired. "It is a slight shift in strategy for the Australian business, but one which will enable us to pursue rapid growth in our network and supply chain businesses in Australia and overseas," Toll managing director Paul Little said in a statement on Wednesday.... | |
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| | | How to improve your online holiday shopping | | Posted Sunday, November 19, 2006 12:51:09 PM by Blog57 Team | | Retailers predict that one in four holiday purchases will be made on the Internet this year, according to a survey released this past week by the National Retail Federation. Here are some ways to save money and avoid problems when shopping online: Replacement credit-card numbers. For people wary of putting their credit-card numbers in cyberspace, the major credit-card companies have programs for temporary numbers that can be used to make purchases. The programs, which can be downloaded easily from your card's Web site, pop up when you reach the checkout page. Promotional code searches. Before you pass by the promotional code box when you're checking out, do a quick search in Google or your favorite search engine of the retailer's name and the word "coupon" or "promotional code." You'll often find a code to put in for further discounts.... | |
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| | | Tech Companies Push For R&D Federal Tax Credit | | Posted Wednesday, November 15, 2006 6:50:56 AM by Blog57 Team | | High-tech companies are pushing Congress to act during its lame-duck session to renew a popular federal research and development tax credit that expired last year.The tax break, offering a 20 percent credit for new activities, was designed to give companies an incentive to increase their research and experimentation.It has wide support but, along with some other popular tax breaks, bogged down earlier this year when lawmakers tried to attach it to some less popular legislation."This is a priority and we want it done asap," Phillip Bond, head of the Information Technology Association of America, said at a Capitol Hill press conference Tuesday where leading tech industry groups highlighted the issue."There are some expenditures by the U.S. government that should really be called investments," said William Archey, head of the American Electronics Association.... | |
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| | | NTL Bid for ITV to Succeed, Credit-Default Swaps Show (Update1) | | Posted Tuesday, November 14, 2006 7:05:32 AM by Blog57 Team | | Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) -- NTL Inc., the U.K.'s biggest cable- television company, is likely to succeed in its takeover of broadcaster ITV Plc, according to traders betting on the creditworthiness of companies in the credit-default swap market. The perceived risk of owning London-based ITV's 1.56 billion pounds ($2.97 billion) of investment-grade bonds has soared since below-investment grade rated NTL said it was interested in a ``combination.'' Credit-default swaps are financial instruments based on corporate bonds and loans that are used to speculate on a company's ability to repay debt. Hook, England-based NTL, whose bond default in 2002 was Europe's biggest, may have to borrow as much as 5 billion pounds to fund a cash bid, The Guardian reported today. ITV's advertising revenue has declined at its main channel as audiences defect to rivals.... | |
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| | | UnionBank Credit Cards signs agreement with UEAA | | Posted Monday, November 13, 2006 6:57:30 AM by Blog57 Team | | UnionBank Credit Cards signed an Affinity Card Agreement with the University of the East Alumni Association (UEAA), making UnionBank its exclusive issuer of credit card. Launched at the Manila Polo Club, the UEAA credit card is a special project of the alumni association to celebrate UEs diamond jubilee. The UAEE credit card offers the alumni prestige and honor plus an experience of privilege and convenience. Every time a cardholder uses his/her UEAA credit card, a corresponding donation is automatically forwarded to the alumni association. This system allows the UE alumni to be involved in worthy causes. Moreover, UnionBank credit cards has issued affinity cards and unique specialty cards like the Titanium Card and the Bai Card. Meanwhile, UnionBank Credit Cards and Mapfre/Insular inked a memorandum of agreement for a co-brand partnership, creating the Mapfre/Insular Credit Card.... | |
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