| Fitch: AMR, American Outlook Positive
Fitch Ratings on Tuesday boosted the credit outlook on American Airlines and its corporate parent because of the carrier's efforts to reduce its debt load. Fitch raised its outlook on the airline and AMR Corp. to "Positive" from "Stable," signaling that a ratings upgrade is possible, but kept their issuer default ratings at "B-". AMR's senior unsecured debt rating is "CCC," while American Airlines' secured bank credit facility is at "BB-". .
Student credit card use leading to financial negligence
It's an unfortunate common theme among college students today: mounting credit card debt preventing them from financial independence or potential jobs. But are Boston College students guilty of this irresponsible spending?
A recent article in The Daily Titan, the student newspaper at California State University, Fullerton) cited a 2004 survey that found that 91 percent of students had credit cards by their final year in college. Further, the article reported that the average outstanding balance of all student credit cards was $2,169. More than half carried balances of less than $1,000.
In part, this financial negligence of spendthrift students was attributed to the aggressive marketing on college campuses of credit card companies, who use advertising practices such as offering free T-shirts to students for signing up for a credit card.
How to dispute a credit card purchase
Don't you just hate it when you buy a product and bring it home, only to discover the product is damaged or poorly made? To make matters worse, the merchant refuses to replace it or give you a refund. If you made the purchase with a credit card, your card company may be able to help. Purchase protection -- with catches
Credit card purchases are protected under the Fair Credit Billing Act. This law gives the consumer the right to withhold payment on poor-quality or damaged merchandise purchased with a credit card. Under the law, you do need to make a real effort to resolve the dispute with the merchant before you can ask your issuer to stop a credit card payment. There are a few other catches as well. The sale must be for more than $50 and have taken place in your home state or within 100 miles of your home address.
Wilshire Bancorp to Promote Elaine Jeon to Interim Chief Financial Officer Following Brian Cho's Departure
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 8, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Wilshire Bancorp, Inc. (NasdaqGS:WIBC - News), the holding company for Wilshire State Bank, today announced that Elaine Jeon will be promoted to interim Chief Financial Officer (CFO) from Controller at the end of the month following Brian Cho's pending departure. Cho will be leaving at the end of November to become CFO for a larger bank. ``Elaine Jeon has excellent financial skills, and she is very well qualified to take on the position as interim CFO for Wilshire,'' Cho commented. ``We have worked together for the past 10 years and she is one of the most professional and skilled finance and accounting professionals I know. I believe her strategic thinking will be a strong asset in guiding Wilshire forward.'' .
J'accuse!
It's clear this whole subprime mess is much worse than anybody anticipated. Things are crashing. Stuff is burning. The best and brightest minds are at work on how to solve this crisis before it sinks the global economy into a hopeless morass that will plague us all for decades. No, wait. They're the ones who caused it. Or did they? I believe it is our duty, now that the problem has grown beyond our control, not to try to solve it but to pinpoint blame. This reporter set out to find the true culprit. First, I went to the recently formerized head of a gigantic bank that had issued loans to persons of wobbly provenance. I found him at his private island off the coast of South America, which he had bought with 5% of his exit package. "It wasn't me!" he said.
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