| Lower costs, higher volume drive MasterCard profit |
| News - Financial News |
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--(www.FinancialNewsUSA.com)-- 11/04/2009 - Banking industry news provided by Financial News USA. NEW YORK (AP) -- MasterCard Inc. said Tuesday its third-quarter profit was bolstered by continued cost-cutting measures and an increase in the number of transactions it processed. AP - FILE - In this April 29, 2008 file photo, a MasterCard is seen in Boston. MasterCard said ... However, worldwide purchase volume grew only 0.4 percent on a local currency basis during the quarter, providing further evidence that a global economic recovery is likely to be slow. Volume fell in the U.S. "The economic downturn has continued to affect consumer and business spending during the quarter," Robert Selander, MasterCard's CEO, said during a conference call with investors. "We don't expect any global economic improvement until sometime in 2010." But, Selander did note that there have been some signs of stabilization in recent months and the worst of the downturn is likely over. [Read the full article] MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- Thousands of small businesses that rely on Alabama Power Co. will get a break on their electric bills in the new year. Savings for other customers may also be ahead. The Alabama Public Service Commission voted unanimously Tuesday for a rate adjustment that will save more than 22,000 small businesses more than $25 per month. On Dec. 1, the PSC will review the rates that Alabama Power's residential customers pay. Commission members said they anticipate a rate reduction that will begin around Jan. 1. Zeke Smith, Alabama Power's vice president for financial and regulatory planning, said he shares Cook's optimism. He said heavy rainfall has increased production from the company's hydroelectric plants, which is the cheapest kind of electricity. Also, coal prices have stabilized after rising sharply, and natural gas prices are lower than a year ago. [Read the full article] PITTSBURGH (AP) -- A California debt collection company has agreed to a $2.55 million judgment to settle a lawsuit brought by thousands of Pennsylvanians who claim they were wrongly led to believe they had to pay costly fees to avoid criminal charges for bouncing checks. American Corrective Counseling Services admits no wrongdoing as part of the settlement approved Monday in bankruptcy court in Delaware. The company sent out letters as recently as last winter purporting to be from various Pennsylvania district attorneys' offices to people who bounced checks. The letters indicated that a crime had been committed, but that the check bouncers could clear up the matter by paying off the checks and various fees and by attending a financial accountability class. In one case, an elderly woman wrote a bad check for $27.17 to Kmart and was informed she had to pay $72.17 in fees, plus another $170 for the accountability class. "She thought that she was going to be arrested. [Read the full article] Indiscriminate investors could have thrown darts at the stock tables in March and picked a portfolio that did as well or better than Eric Fischman's. But that's not his style. Fischman's focus is on the long haul and quality. In fact, the manager of $2 billion MFS Growth (NASDAQ: MFEGX) feels the price of winning in the long run is avoiding volatility in the near term. The fund lost 37.6% last year. That was 0.6 percentage points more than the S&P 500's setback. But it was 3.1 points ahead of its large-cap growth rivals' average. Trolling for consistent winners gives the fund a slingshot boost over the long run. Under Fischman since April 2, 2002, the $2 billion portfolio was in the top 34% of its large growth category in performance this year going into Nov. 2, according to Morningstar Inc. Fischman: We're not going to be the top fund in any given quarter. Yes, we're focused on consistency over long periods. [Read the full article] About Financial News USA Financial News USA is a Next Generation Financial Communications firm focused on the distribution of market moving news. Financial News USA has developed leading edge e-publishing tools including programming proprietary RSS feeds and enabling open source press release publishing across its network. Financial News USA has been aggressively expanding its news distribution network by targeting direct feeds to financial news and data providers such as FinancialContent, Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO), among others. Financial News USA offers a free news feed available online (www.financialnewsusa.com) to websites and financial services looking for content and for individual investors looking to stay informed on the financial markets. Financial News USA and its affiliates charge each client cash for news distribution and may take an equity position in the companies mentioned herein, please visit the disclaimer at www.financialnewsusa.com. 
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