UFO Info Week-End

CIT faces some $10 billion of debt coming due in the yearending March 31 2010

CIT faces some $10 billion of debt coming due in the yearending March 31, 2010. “The government has to draw the line at some point,” saidJames Barth, an economist at the Milken Institute. “I don’t think it’s going to be a catastrophe or becomeanother Lehman Brothers, given the FDIC’s apparent concernabout the quality of the assets.” Earlier on Wednesday, Barney Frank, chairman of the HouseFinancial Services Committee, said he hoped the governmentwould find aid for CIT. “If CIT doesn’t get structured help,then it will have a very negative effect, I’m told, on smallbusinesses around the country,” he said in an interview. (Reporting by Jennifer Ablan, Paritosh Bansal, Tom Hals, PeterHenderson, David Lawder, Patrick Rucker, Walden Siew, JonathanSpicer, Rachelle Younglai and Ajay Kamalakaran; Editing by TimDobbyn, Ted Kerr and Anshuman Daga) Stocks Regulatory News Bonds Bankruptcy.

PITTSBURGH, July 16 (Reuters) – The U.S. government willget tough with governments that don’t live up to trade deals,including those with substandard labor practices, U.S. TradeRepresentative Ron Kirk was set to announce on Thursday Stocks The USTR and U.S. Labor and State departments will identifyand investigate labor violations in countries with which it hasfree trade agreements and insist problems are fixed, instead ofwaiting for complaints to initiate enforcement, according toprepared remarks. “If they won’t fix their labor problems, we will exerciseour legal options,” Kirk was set to say in a speech at a U.S.Steel Corp (X.N) plant. “American workers should not be expected to compete againstsubstandard labor practices,” he said. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Paul Simao) Stocks.

* Suspension in U.S effective from March 30 Stocks * Halted U.K. employees contributions from July 1 * Decision to help control costs NEW YORK, July 15 (Reuters) – American Express Co (AXP.N),the largest U.S. credit card company, has halted itscontributions to employees’ pension plans in the United Statesand the U.K., as part of a restructuring process to slash costsamid mounting credit losses. The company said on Wednesday it told employees in Februarythat the suspension of matching and conversion contributionsinto the Retirement Savings Plan (401K) accounts of U.S.workers would be effective from March 30 American Express also halted U.K employees contributionsfrom July 1. “The decision was made to help control our costs in anextremely challenging economic environment,” spokeswoman JoannaLambert said, adding the company intended to resume thecontributions “as soon as economic and business conditionsallow”. American Express was the fastest growing credit cardcompany during the credit boom of 2003-07, but the company paida heavy price when the bubble burst last year. Mounting credit losses sent its earnings spiralling lowerand a paralysis in short-term funding markets forced the firmto seek U.S government funds.

Since then, American Express has been slashing lending,trimming expenses by $2.5 billion — including 11,000 job cuts– and divesting to shore up its balance sheet. The firm alsorepaid the $3.4 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Fund (TARP)money it received during the financial meltdown. It is also the only one credit card company that did notcut its dividend and the only that remains profitable,according to quarterly reports. (Reporting by Juan Lagorio and Jonathan Spicer; Editing byValerie Lee) Stocks. NIJMEGEN, The Netherlands, July 16 /PRNewswire/ — Neurofeedback – alsocalled EEG Biofeedback – is a method used to train brain activity in order tonormalize Brain function and treat psychiatric disorders.