| MasterCard spent $1.8M lobbying
MasterCard International Inc. spent $1.8 million in 2007 to lobby on Internet-related issues and on fees merchants pay when customers use credit cards. The Purchase, N.Y.-based company spent $880,000 in the second half of 2007 to lobby Congress, according to a disclosure form posted online Feb. 13 by the Senate's public records office. It lobbied on gambling regulations and the use of credit cards to purchase illegal material on the Internet. The company spent $880,000 lobbying in the first half of the year on financial literacy, data security, microchip technology and fees banks pay to credit card networks. Congress is weighing tighter regulations on the credit card industry. The industry came under fire in December, when a Senate subcommitee issued a report denouncing practices that include raising interest rates for customers whose credit ratings decline, even if they make their card payments on time.
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.
Visa plans IPO aimed at raising over $18 bln
Visa Inc, the world's biggest electronic payment processing company, announced on Monday that it was planning an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States, saying it hoped to raise over 18 billion dollars. Visa, which processes payments for credit and debit cards, said it plans to offer just over 400,000 shares for public purchase. It expects its shares to be priced at between 37 and 42 dollars per share. The San Francisco-based company said in a statment that it plans to launch its IPO as soon as possible. Investors will be able to purchase shares in Visa from a pool of 447 million shares of Class A stock the company intends to sell. The company has hired a group of well-known investment banks to support its IPO, including Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and HSBC Securities (USA) Inc.
Crombie's future now a soap opera, says SL chairman
You are right number 2 and in my opinion what went on in 2003/04 in SL was no different from Leeson, LTCM and the SocGen guy. In each case there are big losses because of being badly positioned in the market and in each case they ignore the growing losses due to either denial, ego (they are right and the market is wrong) or a combination of both. SL was overweight equities all the way down in a raging bear market. The FSA was just acting as a risk manager should and stopping them out. I wonder if they will have an underweight equities view in the coming mega bear market. .
Washington approach to Georgia roads way off mark
When it does, it returns to fund transportation priorities that may not align with Georgia's. And it returns earmarked for projects like the $87 million allocated to the 26-mile commuter rail line from Atlanta to Lovejoy, or $3 million for clean-fuel buses for MARTA when U.S. Reps. Jack Kingston of Savannah and John Lewis of Atlanta requested $300,000. And in the midst of a war and a tanking economy, members of the Congress of the United States are convening to decide whether safety improvements costing $500,000 should be made on Glenwood Road in DeKalb County, as requested by U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson. They did, thereby transferring to Washington a problem that should have been solved at the county level or, absent that, at the state level. Not surprisingly all nine members of the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission appointed by Congress are in agreement that federal gas taxes should be raised by 5 to 8 cents a gallon every year for five years.
Space crunch hampers Mount Desert police work
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Blazing a new trail
Following a two-year stint in Germany during World War II, McCabe returned to Ganado, Ariz., on the Navajo reservation to a wife and children. Prior to the war, McCabe married Alice Curley, of the Tachiinii tribe, in the 1930s. The pair raised 15 children together. McCabe worked as an artist and surveyor as Alice tended to the homestead. In her spare time, Alice was a shepherd with a knack for weaving. While McCabe served overseas, the reservation suffered a severe work shortage. By the time he returned, no irrigation systems remained for farming. The only way to make a living was raising sheep and cattle, a far less lucrative venture than a prospering, small plantation. McCabe had a wife and, at the time, two children to provide for. The proud father wanted his kids to have the best educational opportunities, which required a life-altering move.
Qwest CEO plans to fill firm's wireless 'hole'
But he said that the Denver telco also has "holes" in its business, most notably in its wireless offering. He said recently that Qwest is looking for a new partner or a stronger partnership with Sprint. On Monday, he said he wants to do it "fast." Mueller, who replaced Dick Notebaert last summer, added only a few new details to a strategy outlined late last year. Instead, much of the event was geared toward face-to-face contact with the analysts, who hold great sway with investors. At a lunch before the meeting, Mueller worked the room, individually greeting his guests. "They've framed it as his coming-out party, and I think that's what it is," said Jason Armstrong, a telecommunications analyst with Goldman Sachs. Qwest shares increased 6 percent to $5.60 on Monday, but are still well below the $10 level before Notebaert announced plans last June to retire.
Raiders Add Free Agents
Oakland also has renegotiated running back Dominic Rhodes' contract this week, securing his return for next season. Rhodes was due a $2 million roster bonus on Friday, but agreed to restructure his deal.Rhodes signed as a free agent last year after helping Indianapolis win the Super Bowl. He was suspended for the first four games last season and played sparingly until Justin Fargas went down with a knee injury late in the year. Rhodes ran for 237 yards the last two games of the season and is expected to share the load with Fargas next season. .
Apple secretly tracking iPhone IMEI numbers? [U]
Apple is keeping abnormal watch on the identity of iPhones making use of online services, some hackers suggest. Buried within the binaries for the Stocks and Weather widgets is code that hands over a user's IMEI number -- the unique identifier for each phone. While IMEI numbers are common to all GSM cellphones, and are regularly used to authorize presence on a network, they are normally unneeded for accessing individual web services. Furthermore, it is impossible to modify the binaries' URLs to omit IMEI data and still retrieve any data from the widgets. Why the information would be needed is unknown, but proposed reasons include the likes of targeted advertising, consumer research, or guarding against unauthorized devices. It is reportedly very easy to spoof an IMEI number however, by using a hex editor to replace the variables in the URLs with any two-digit number, such as 00.
Kidman's pregnancy confirmed
The New York Post overnight reported that Kidman dropped plans to shoot a major new film in Germany to protect the health of her unborn child. Kidman's representatives last week attempted to shoot down the pregnancy reports, describing them as "gossip", but the Post quoted "extremely well-placed sources" as saying Kidman was expecting. "Of course, everyone knows she's pregnant and lying about it," the source told the Post. Kidman was to begin shooting the Stephen Daldry-directed post World War II drama, The Reader, with Ralph Fiennes this month. The Post said Kidman, who has suffered miscarriages in the past, is "so concerned about the welfare of her unborn child" that she quit the film. The film is produced by Hollywood studio Weinstein Company and is based on Bernhard Schlink's prize-winning book about a man who carries a long-time sexual obsession with an older woman who is later prosecuted for war crimes after it emerges she was a member of the SS and a guard at Auschwitz.
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