American International Group has launched a new system to determine how employees get incentive pay, a move that follows public outcry over retention payments the bailed-out insurer made to some staff. Under the plan, which is being pushed by Chief Executive Robert Benmosche, AIG will rank employees on a scale of 1 to 4, based [...]
Archive for February, 2010
Bernanke Outlines Exit Strategy
February 11th, 2010 
admin Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke outlined the likely path the Fed would take to tighten credit once the economy has recovered enough. In another step toward unwinding its crisis-lending programs, he said Wednesday the Fed could soon begin raising its discount rate, charging more for emergency loans it makes directly to banks. In testimony prepared [...]
Posted in Business News 
Tags: banks, central bank, economy, federal-funds rate, funds, monetary policy, Strategy 
No Comments »Iceland hires U.S. lawyer in hope of new Icesave talks
February 9th, 2010 admin REYKJAVIK, Feb 9 (Reuters) – Iceland has recruited an American lawyer to lead potential new talks with the British and Dutch governments over the repayment of more than $5 billion lost in Icelandic bank accounts during the financial crisis. Icelandic Finance Minister Steingrimur Sigfusson told state radio on Tuesday that the government and political opposition [...]
Equity income funds back in favour
February 7th, 2010 admin Investment trusts that focus on income stocks are once again looking attractive for investors seeking a decent yield. Income funds fell from favour in last year’s bull market, as investors flocked to cyclical stocks and growth funds. Defensive stocks such as utility and pharmaceuticals groups – in which most income funds have big holdings – [...]
Wall Street cuts losses, ends up with techs, materials
February 7th, 2010 admin NEW YORK: Stocks erased a midday drop to end slightly higher on Friday, closing out a volatile week punctuated by mixed signals from the labor market data and growing anxiety over fiscal problems in Europe. Major indexes turned positive heading into the close, as investors scooped up shares in the technology and materials sectors — [...]
Is Greece’s debt trashing the euro?
February 7th, 2010 admin ATHENS: Dimitris Damianidis is a high school teacher and a strong supporter of Greece’s socialist government.But that won’t deter him from going on strike with hundreds of thousands of other public sector workers next week to fight for the 28,000-euro pension that he expects to receive annually after he turns 60 next year. “Why should [...]
Posted in Forex Trading Tags: budgets, Dimitris Damianidis, Greece, International Monetary Fund No Comments »Just the facts on life insurance
February 7th, 2010 admin When buying insurance, you can be overwhelmed by an information avalanche. To protect your future from poor choices today, organize your insurance search by reaching back to grade school and employing the use of the 5 W’s: Who? What? Where? When? Why? and How much? Who? The classic argument to avoid life insurance runs, “If [...]
Comparing Home Loans Now Easier
February 7th, 2010 admin Comparing home loans just got easier, thanks to the first industry-standardized good faith estimate, or GFE, that was rolled out by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in January. The new form more clearly details closing costs so homebuyers can shop mortgage loans with different lenders and compare the costs easily. After all, [...]
Posted in Personal Finance Tags: broker, Home Loans, mortgage costs, mortgage loans, shop for a loan No Comments »Social Networking: Your Key to Easy Credit?
February 7th, 2010 admin You probably don’t analyze the chatter or quality of your social media connections, but creditors may be doing just that. In their quest to identify creditworthy customers, some are tapping into the information you and your friends reveal in the virtual stratosphere. Before calling the privacy police, though, understand how it’s really being used. Data [...]
Cost Cutting Boosts Profits
February 7th, 2010 admin After a Long Decline, Revenue for S&P 500 Companies Is Climbing Again Fourth-quarter earnings for U.S. companies so far have rocked compared with a year ago. The question for this year: How much more can earnings improve? Among those posting results thus far, the melody has been sweet. Financial-services companies Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc., [...]
