| 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.
Chase Paymentech Debuts Website for Small and Medium Businesses
DALLAS, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Chase Paymentech Solutions, LLC, has launched a new website designed to help small and medium sized businesses affordably accept credit card payments. The new site, http://merchantaccount.chasepaymentech.com, provides business owners with a simple, easy to use guide to access the latest Chase Paymentech payment processing tools. The site allows businesses to research payment products that fit their needs and offers quick access to experts who can customize a program to each business' requirements. These programs feature reliable terminals, low interchange rates to process credit card transactions and even custom gift card programs. Solutions can be designed for merchants who need secure payment solutions over the Internet, point-of- sale, telephone, or mail order.
Bank of America, Countrywide to Name Sambol to New Role
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Bank of America Corporation and Countrywide Financial Corporation today announced that David Sambol, Countrywide's president and chief operating officer, will lead the combined consumer mortgage business once Bank of America's planned purchase of Countrywide is complete. Sambol will continue in his current role, reporting to Countrywide Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Angelo R. Mozilo until completion of the transaction, which is targeted for the third quarter. In a related announcement, Bank of America Global Consumer and Small Business Banking President Liam McGee announced that Card Services Executive Bruce Hammonds will assume the newly created role of Global Consumer Credit Executive when the purchase closes. Hammonds, who will continue to report to McGee, will be in charge of all consumer credit products, including the consumer mortgage organization, Bank of America Card Services and unsecured lending.
As scanners shrink, their tax uses grow
It's tax time, and for management consultant Eric Ochieng, that used to mean spreadsheets, receipts, and other scattered documents. But now Ochieng handles his digital record-keeping with a portable document scanner that comes with software for categorizing images, whether it's a business card or a credit card statement. Ochieng says he also tracks all of his travel expenses, scanning in receipts and recording out-of-pocket and business costs. And at the end of the year, he runs ad hoc reports that he gives to his accountant. "I have up-to-date information about expenses incurred, and immediate access to receipts and related notes, which are saved on my laptop," says Ochieng. That clunky scanner, formerly a heavy flatbed machine, has downsized to portable document scanner that can easily fit into a briefcase and is typically made to scan receipts, business cards, and other small papers, as well as for letter-size documents.
Standard Chartered unveils new card
Dubai: Standard Chartered on Monday launched a business credit card in the UAE primarily targeted at the small and medium enterprise (SME) segment. The 'Gold Business Credit Card', co-branded with Singapore Airlines, offers business-centric benefits such as automatic membership to KrisFlyer - the loyalty programme of Singapore Airlines, the flexibility to convert business rewards from the credit card to KrisFlyer miles, preferential rates and offers from leading international hotels and discounts on office supplies, equipment and courier services. "Our Business Credit Card is aligned with our ongoing drive to deliver first-class services to all our valued customers above and beyond their stated needs," said Chris De Bruin, head of consumer banking chartered for the UAE.
The Unspeakable R Word
Why are there imbalances in the global economy? Until recently, conventional economic wisdom has held that the U.S. has a huge trade deficit, a gaping current account deficit, and large federal budget deficits because Americans consume too much and save very little. Newly emerging conventional wisdom takes the opposite view. The problem in today's global economy is that the rest of the world, in particular people in Asia, consume too little and save way too much. Signs of this meme can be seen all over. The lead article in today's Wall Street Journal speaks of a global housing boom spurred by a "saving glut." An op-ed in today's Financial Times by Ricardo Hausmann of Harvard notes that "excessive savings are at the root of the imbalance in China." Elsewhere, the FT applauds a tentative sign that the Japanese—"who control the world's largest pool of savings," some $1.28 trillion—are showing signs of spending and investing more.
Border security tightens
Those quick trips across the border to Mexico and Canada will soon come with new requirements for travelers. As of Thursday, all travelers 19 and older crossing U.S. borders by land or sea from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean must show a government-issued I.D. card, such as a driver’s license, and proof of citizenship, such as a passport or birth certificate. U.S. citizens 18 and under must prove citizenship. This new initiative will strengthen the security at U.S. land and sea borders, according to the U.S. Department of State Web site. Starting Friday, U.S. residents can apply for a cheaper, wallet-sized alternative to a traditional passport, which already is required for all air travel outside the USA. The new passport card, to be issued sometime this spring, will be valid for 10 years for adults and five years for children 15 and younger.
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